However Dark The Night
by kikistrain
Summary: A shot when coming home to lunch brings unwanted attention for Kirsten. Chapter 22 up
1. Sometimes The Past Comes Back To Hurt

**Disclaimer – Any character that you recognise from the OC then I'm afraid I don't own. Oh well. Here is a fic that I thought up, when? I have no idea but I hope you like it.**

Sandy's eyes were beginning to blur as he looked at the word son the computer screen and at the words he haphazardly sprawled on a piece of paper in his cursive writing. He was tired of these petty Newport snob cases but he put up with it because he was still being what he set out to become. A lawyer, but not a high priced lawyer like he had become but a lawyer nonetheless.

Squinting his eyes and rubbing his temples he sat back in his chair sighing heavily. He quickly reached forward and saved the data in the documents he was working on. Taking a breath he swivelled around and looked at the view from his office. At least he could see the beautiful scenery that surrounds Newport and he could see a length of the ocean in the horizon.

Sandy swivelled back around to his desk and picked up his pen but as he went to write on the page his brain would not work so he began to tap the desk with his pen tapping a beat that he remembered but from where, he couldn't remember. He was simply trying to waste time. Time. 'What time is it?' he thought. He pushed back his shirt sleeve and looked at the watch Kirsten bought him for their anniversary. It shows it as twenty past one.

Twenty past one. He looked at the ornaments and other paraphernalia on his desk. Then his eyes settled on the framed photograph of his beautiful bride, Kirsten. It was his favourite photograph of her. Her blonde locks had been curled to perfection and she was wearing a scarlet dress which was tied around her neck and which exposed her perfectly toned back although you could not see it in the photo. Red was always her best colour, scarlet, ruby, maroon any shade of red. Kirsten's azure eyes looked innocently at the camera and smiled the smile that he always loved to see when he woke up beside her and after they make love. When she smiled he knew the world was a wonderful place and he fell in love with her all over again. Her special smiles were solely reserved for him and he loved that she was comfortable expressing her true feelings to him; the love of her life.

Sandy remembered that Kirsten said that she would be at home for lunch because she had some work in her study that she needs to sort out. He thought that she would be home by now or at least on her way. Abandoning his work he decided to surprise his wife at home and have lunch with her.

Quickly he closed his laptop computer and stood picking up his jacket at the same time. Gathering his keys and phone he walked out of his office telling his secretary that he was going home for a while. Just the mere thought of spending time alone with his wife made him walk even faster to his car.

For the first time in ages Kirsten decided to go home for lunch because she needed to collect some documents from her study and she thought there was no need to go out somewhere while there was food in the house and listen to her stepmother bitch about her father or someone else.

Pulling up in front of her house her turned off the range rover and climbed out. The warm California sunshine heated her skin and a light fall breeze blew her blonde her delicately as if afraid to break it. Kirsten then picked up her briefcase from the back of the car. She had no idea why she put it there but she just did.

After locking the car, she walked into the house while tucking stray strands of hair behind her ear. Work was again consuming her life and her dad was pissing her off but that was always how it was, all work and no plat makes Kiki a good girl, in her father's eyes anyway.

After entering the house she haphazardly dropped her keys on the table next to the door. Kirsten took off her jacket and draped it over the couch in the living room and then she made her way up the main stairs to her study, Sandy's study was downstairs and hers was upstairs. She quickly disposed of her briefcase on her desk and walked back out and down the stairs again.

She cut across the hall and walked down to hers and Sandy's bedroom leaving an echo from her heels resonating through the house.

As usual she stepped up the few steps to the bedroom and nonchalantly walked in but before she was two seconds in the room a hand tangled itself roughly in her hair and tugged her head back sharply with her body obediently following.

"Looky what I have here," the voice connected to the hand sarcastically spat as he threw her to the floor to his right, "Cohen's bitch!"

After he threw her like a rag doll her spine connected with the wall with a sickening snap. Instinctively she cried out in pain and her hand flew to her back. She squeezed her eyes shut and gritted her teeth.

The strong being crouched down over her and again pulled at her pristine hair and ordered her to look at him.

Her heart told her not to look at this person but her instincts and fear of being hurt won over and she opened her eyes to look at her attacker.

He had sharp steel blue eyes, mottled black hair and stubble on his face. It was the first time she got a glimpse of her attacker who was staring her squarely in the eye. His gaze made her feel insignificant and pathetic.

"So . . . this is where big shot Cohen lives huh?" he said standing up looking around him. Kirsten remained on the floor but she manoeuvred herself so that she was sitting up against the wall her spine had bounced off moments before. The pain in her back coursed through her petite body.

Her attacker nonchalantly toured the bedroom picking up a random photo her and there and examined it with an eagle and hate filled eye. When he picked a picture up of Sandy and Kirsten off of her dresser, he looked at it sternly and his nostrils became flared and his lips thinned and tightened. When his rage came to a peck, he smashed the photo frame against the corner or the dresser causing Kirsten to flinch at the noise.

The glass shards littered the carpet and the broken frame lay on the floor whereas the photograph rested over the sharp edges of the glass that once protected the photo. The man spat on the glossy photo and covered it with his colossal foot and crumpled the once beloved memory.

The he turned his attention to Kirsten. She was bracing herself against the wall hugging her knees to her chest. His heavy shoes punished the carpet as an introduction to what he would do to her.

The dull thuds that approached her alerted her to her punisher. Unconsciously she looked away from him as he inched ever closer to her and Kirsten hugged her knees even tighter. In her head she was reciting to herself as a mantra, "Everything will be fine" over and over. But on top of that the frightened Kirsten screamed, "I want Sandy, please don't hurt me, he's gonna hurt, I want Sandy!" In merely a few minutes she had reverted from a strong independent woman to a scared girl begging for help curled up near a corner.

Forbidding her eyes to open, the man stopped abruptly in front of her and lowered himself down to her level. Seeing that she was not going to look at him, he placed his hand under hr chin and firmly motioned it up to face him.

"Open you eyes!" he demanded.

She refused.

"Open!"

Again she kept her eyes shut and looked at the insides of her eyelids attempting to block out his voice.

The next thing she knew was his strong fingers curled around her neck and he sharply tugged her head to his and bruisingly kissed her.

Kirsten's eyes flew open as his lips harassed hers and she was able to bring up her hands to push him away but his hand around her neck prevented her from removing the lips that had become welded to hers and the tongue that was persistent on entry. Her body continued to struggle and her fists pummelled his shoulders trying in vain to do some damage.

Laughing at her feeble attempts to repel him, he removed his lips from her slender and supple ones. A deathly grin appeared on his face as he rose taking her with him. He knew his unfaltering grip around her neck made her susceptible to any movement he wished of her. When she came to standing, he removed his grip on her throat but he struck her cheek causing her to falter.

"Aww did that hurt?" he asked sarcastically.

Kirsten's hand cradled her cheek as she looked at the maniacal glint in his eyes.

"W-what do you want?" she stuttered trying to piece the words of her question together.

"W-w-w-w-w," he repeated mockingly, "I'm here to do what I came to do."

As he spoke he backed her up against the wall and pinned her there.

Sandy pulled the Beemer up in front of the house beside his wife's range rover. As quietly as he could he got out of the car and softly closed the door behind him hoping not to alert Kirsten of his presence.

When he came through the front door he noticed that her jacket was draped over the couch. Forgetting the fact that he wanted to surprise Kirsten, he inadvertently closed the door as he normally would. Hearing the door close he cursed himself but he let it go and walked into the kitchen and looked for his beautiful wife. When he saw she wasn't there he followed the kitchen into the family room were she was not to be seen.

He quickly jogged up the main stairs to look in her study. Sand found the door open but the room empty. Instantly he thought of the most obvious place she would be if she wasn't in the kitchen, family room, living room or her sanctuary . . . the bedroom.

Exiting the room her retraced his steps down the stairs and followed the hall to their bedroom blissfully unaware of what had happened there and what was about to happen.

When the anonymous man pinning her against the wall heard the door being closed he clamped his hand over her mouth and pulled her away from the wall and held her close.

Inside she feared that it was one of her sons coming home for lunch because they forgot a book they needed for school. She knew that if they saw her car outside they would want to say "Hi", well Ryan would anyway.

With his hand firmly covering her mouth, they both waited to see if whoever was in the house would leave. He edged her further back from the door to where he lurked before attacking her.

Every second was excruciating for Kirsten because whoever it was knew she was home because her jacket was on the couch, her keys were on the table and the most obvious clue was her car outside.

"Kirsten?" she heard a voice call.

Fuck! It was Sandy. Her eyes widened in fear and her eyes darted from left to right and her breathing began to quicken as his shadow moved along the floor and the gentle tapping of his shoes became louder.

Kirsten wanted to more than anything to scream at the top of her lungs and warn Sandy to stay away but her restrainer sensed her tense and tightened his grip on her. She wished Sandy could read her mind but he can't.

His silhouette came ever closer and they moved further back out of view. Then he came into view and he walked normally into the room like he has done a billion times before.

"Sandy Cohen," the voice whispered sinisterly, "We meet again."

Sandy turned around towards the closet to pin point the voice. What he saw stopped his heart dead in his chest.

His wife was being held roughly by a man who was literally twice her size and a head taller with his over her mouth and his fingers embedded in the cheek he loved to kiss. This isn't how she should be held. Kirsten should be held like a Princess but more like a china doll because she was too precious.

"Who are you?" he asked trying not to sound petrified.

"Oh I'm disappointed counsellor."

Keeping his gaze fixed firmly on Kirsten, the unknown man moved into the light that flowed into the room. Sandy saw the fear in his wife's eyes and he wanted so much to take her into his arms and tell her that he would protect her from all the evil of the world or the rain if he had to. But he can't.

Sandy can't take Kirsten into his arms and tell her it was fine when she was on the other side of the room afraid.

"You don't remember me?"

"I don't I'm sorry."

"Maybe this will encourage your memory!" he spat as he pulled something put pf his trousers and placed it against Kirsten's head. It was a gun and the feel of the cold metal against her temple scared Kirsten.

"Oh god!" she could be heard crying from underneath his unrelenting hand. Her breathing became rapid and her blue eyes bulged at the feeling of the gun's barrel against her head.

"No!" Sandy begged stepping forward.

"Ah ah!" he said backing away.

"Let her go . . . she has nothing to do with this."

He paused and analysed his options, "No, I think I'll keep her . . . she's beautiful."

"Please don't hurt her."

"Please don't hurt her," he repeated in a high pitched moaning voice, "You didn't speak like that before you sent me to prison you son of a bitch!"

A light went off in Sandy's head.

"Jeremy Green."

"Ding ding ding we have a winner. Sandy's wife, let's tell this genius what he has won shall we?"

With the gun still against her head, she felt something revolting against her right cheek. Her captor had dropped his head to beside hers and licked her face.

Kirsten squeezed her eyes shut and tried to move her head but the gun barrel pushed her head towards him and his hand over her mouth moved to her opposite cheek and held her in position.

Sandy had to restrain himself from punching Jeremy from here to kingdom come for laying a hand on his wife. He is the only one allowed to touch her and more importantly Sandy is the only one she permits to touch her.

Jeremy's arms snacked around her waist while his other hand held the gun still against her temple. He bent his head down and pressed his cheek to Kirsten's and swayed them from side to side.

Sandy could no longer suppress his rage,

"Stay right where you are Cohen!" he said pointing the gun at Sandy as he stepped forward.

"Sandy please! . . . Don't," Kirsten begged.

"Ok, ok," Sandy replied raising his hands.

"You better stay where you are!" he spat ordering.

Sandy obeyed his orders for Kirsten's sake.

"She really is beautiful isn't she?" he whispered slyly as he curled her blonde hair behind her ear, "soft hair, great eyes, killer legs and delicate skin and totally fuckable body," he said as he walked his fingers down her neck and into her blouse. There he made a point to show that he had placed his hand in her bra and grabbed breast while pressing his crotch against her. Kirsten tried to block out the fact that it was not her husband's hand that was grabbing her breast and squeezing it as if it was a piece of clay and that he could mould it whatever way he wished.

Her face distorted in pain and disgust as he groped her and violated her body. She had only ever let two people touch her like that and she loved both of them. Now this bastard took it upon himself to grab her breast and press his crotch against her.

Sandy kept looking at his wife's face and not the hand in her blouse. When she opened her eyes he held them in desperation. When she looked at him, she looked into his eyes and saw the strength she needed and the undying love he held for her. She mouthed "I'm sorry" over and over again to him but all he could do was nod.

Jeremy quickly tired of manhandling his victim and relinquished his hand from her blouse.

"You lucky asshole, having her to fuck whenever you want!"

An unpredictable silence befell the room.

"I'm getting bored now."

With this he threw Kirsten to the floor which she hit with a loud thud, Sandy instinctively went to help her.

"Sandy!" Jeremy yelled, "Leave her!"

Cradling her wrist, Kirsten shakingly stood up but found herself in the middle of Jeremy and Sandy but not in the direct line of fire.

"I really am getting bored . . . but I guess I should do what I came here to do . . . and that's to kill you!"

Kirsten's eyes darted from Jeremy and Sandy and vice versa. She saw Jeremy's trigger finger tighten. She could not let Sandy get shot for she would never forgive herself.

Just before the bullet left the barrel and hit Sandy, Kirsten dove into its path and it sunk into her skin and embedded itself in her chest. Her crimson red blood flowed from her wound and she gritted her teeth and cried out in pain. Kirsten fell into Sandy's arms and he fell to the floor cradling Kirsten.

"Oh well, good thing I put more bullets in the g-".

Sandy held desperately onto Kirsten completely unaware of Ryan wrestling Jeremy on the floor next to him. Kirsten was shaking and the blood stained the carpet beneath her. Her breathing became more and more difficult.

Ryan forced Jeremy to drop the gun and was able to get his arms around his neck into what people called the 'sleeper hold'. After several seconds of struggling, Jeremy passed out.

Her eyes flew open but she was she finding it increasingly more difficult to stay conscious. The bullet lodged in her chest impeding her breathing and the hole in her back cause more pain that she had ever experience and she thought it was force than giving birth to Seth. Her body involuntarily moved as if the action would dislodge the bullet and the hole would seal itself immediately. But that didn't happen.

She cried out in pain and coughed and blood spewed out.

"Sandy it hurts, please Sandy make it stop!" she cried as her face contorted with pain and tears fell on her face.

Sandy held her. When he took his hand out from behind her back it was covered in blood . . . her blood . . . his wife's blood. His fear began to rise and her face begging him for the pain to stop tortured him for he couldn't make the pain stop. He couldn't protect her. She got shot for him. It was supposed to be the other way around.

Then Sandy became aware of Ryan.

"Ryan . . . Call 911!" Sandy whispered.

Ryan came to beside Kirsten and saw her eyelids flutter rapidly and saw Kirsten trying to keep her eyes open, "Hold on Kirsten," he whispered before he left to get help.

"Kirsten . . . baby . . . stay with me," Sandy begged as her eyes began to flutter and sag. Finally they no longer opened to reveal the eyes he loved.

"Kirsten!" he asked firmly, "Come on, baby open your eyes!"

He gently shook her.

"I'll call you Kiki if you don't open your eyes . . . I'll make the Nana like you if you open your eyes . . . I'll make peace with her father, just open your eyes please," Sandy cried desperately.

Then Ryan re-entered the room.

"The ambulance is on its way . . . the police will be here soon too for him."

"Kirsten . . . come on baby . . . you can't do this to me."

"Kirsten?" Ryan asked, "Kirsten . . . just hang on ok? You'll be fine."

Both men looked down at Kirsten whose hand had gone limp in Sandy's. Her head fell back onto Sandy's chest; she didn't move or make a single sound. They strained to hear her breathing.

All they could do was sit.

Sit and wait.

**That is it for now my darlings. There is another chapter to this which I hope to get up as soon as possible but I have really important exams to revise for so make my studying better my reviewing this and make me even more motivated to getting part 2 up. Thanks for everyone to have reviewed my other stories.**


	2. Sometimes It Can't Be Like You Want It

**Hey, I couldn't wait to get this chapter up because all your reviews really motivated me to get this up. Just before I begin I just wanna apologize but for what you'll find out soon enough, but please bear with it.**

**Disclaimer – No OC character is mine except the Doctors etc blah blah blah. Ok, here we go . . .

* * *

**

"Sandy Cohen?" a man in a white coat asked approached the gathered family. Immediately Sandy stood but Ryan and Seth followed. Noticing this, Sandy indicated for them to sit back down which they did. Once his sons were seated he turned back to the doctor.

"Yes."

"Hello, I'm Doctor Adam Edwards I was working on your wife in the ER and in surgery," he greeted like he had many other husbands.

"I see . . . i-is she ok?" he replied summoning courage.

"Mr Cohen, why don't we go somewhere and talk?"

"No!" Sandy said a bit too forcefully, "I mean no, please just tell me . . . they'll find out anyway and I might not be able to tell them."

Doctor Edwards looked at the ensemble family and back to the pleading eyes of a dedicated and petrified husband. Sandy had the same look on his eyes as he did when Jeremy put that gun to her head.

"Please take a seat."

"I will not site until someone tells me how my wife is!"

There was a long pause from Doctor Edwards.

The ticks and tocks of the wall clock in the waiting room reverberated in the space and it ticked slower than Sandy's heart. It was beating at a thousand beats a second but it would slow down when he heard the words he wanted to hear, "She's going to be fine".

Unfortunately these were not the words he was about to hear.

"She suffered a couple of rather severe punctures which we fought relentlessly to repair. The bullet punctured her lung and passed through her heart and into her chest. We were able to remove the bullet but I'm afraid she didn't make it."

Summer gasped and she and Marissa held onto each other as Julie looked at Caleb who was looking at Sandy with pure hatred. Summer had lost the other woman in her life who was a mom to her, Marissa lost her step-sister and one she was damned proud to have, Julie lost her step-daughter and her best and only true friend.

The three Cohen men were in silence, neither wanting to move for they felt like they had died along with Kirsten. They are revolved around Kirsten. She was the centre of their universe.

"Are you sure you have the right patient? Kirsten Cohen? Blonde hair, blue eyes, adorable nose, stubborn as a mule but in a loveable way. Kirsten Cohen! She can't be dead, not yet she can't, she's too precious to this world . . . to me. She's not supposed to die!" Sandy rambled in disbelief.

Ryan clenched his fists and his finger nails dug into his skin as his knuckles went white. He stared at the tiled floor of the waiting room and forced his tears to stay hidden. Ryan Atwood didn't cry. He didn't. Ryan Atwood Cohen would.

Seth's skin had been flushed of any colour and the usual sparkle in his eyes was extinguished. His mother was always the light in his eyes; that's where he got that special sparkle. It was what she loved most about her son, that little glint he had in his eye ever since he was born and his sparkle would brighten up when he thought of his loving mother. Now that was gone. And so was she.

"I'm so sorry but I'm afraid it's true . . . I was there."

"This is all your fault!" Caleb yelled.

"Caleb!" Julie said trying to calm her husband.

"I'm sorry," Doctor Edwards said.

"Not you!" Caleb answered.

He stood up and moved towards a devastated and comatose Sandy.

"If she didn't love you so damned much she would never have dove in the path of that bullet and she would still be here!"

"But Sandy would be-" Marissa debated.

"Better him than my daughter!"

"Caleb," Julie interrupted, "Calm down."

"I will not calm down! He is responsible for my daughter's death because she always had to protect him and to keep him from getting hurt!"

"Kiki always said she would die for him," she stated.

"I know . . . but I would die for my daughter! . . . I gotta go, I can't be here now; not again . . . I can't be around anyone she loved."

With that he grabbed his jacket and stormed out of the hospital.

"I'm sorry Sandy . . . he loves her so much."

"It's ok Julie thanks," Sandy said in a monotonous tone.

The love and emotion in his voice had been striped from him.

"Can I see her?"

"I don't think that would a g-"

"Let me re-phrase that . . . I want to see her . . . I need to see her . . . please," he pleaded.

"Follow me but I don't think it would be appropriate that you sons be present."

"Are you guys ok staying put here?" Sandy asked.

Seth merely hugged his knees to himself on the chair and rocked himself back and forth attempting to remember how his mother rocked him back and forth in her arms when he was upset.

"Can I come . . . please?" Ryan asked meekly.

"You sure?"

"Please," he repeated.

"Sure come on . . . Summer, Marissa, look after Seth please?"

The two girls nodded simultaneously and moved to either side of Seth. Summer took her boyfriend her arms and rocked with him. Seth was unresponsive. He was only responsive when his mother held him like that. Not his girlfriend.

His mother would run her fingers lovingly and gently over his dark hair and kiss her and whisper that she was there and that she wouldn't leave him until he was better. She wasn't whispering to him or playing with the hair he inherited from his father. She left long before he was better.

Down the hall, Sandy draped his arm around his adopted son as they followed Doctor Edwards.

"We have her cleaned up her expect to be shocked," he warned

Neither Sandy nor Ryan heard a single word the Doctor said as they stepped closer to the truth. They were too wrapped up in the memories that they had of the woman they both loved and vowed to protect but failed. Then before they knew it they stopped in front of the room where she died. They slowly stepped into the sterile room which was devoid of any sign of emotion. What made Sandy's heart break was that she would not have wanted to die in a room like this; no love or care. They had it all planned out; they would die together on the same day and at the exact same time as the other holding each other in bed after a full life.

Not now, not one before the other, not at thirty-eight years of age.

Together, Sandy and Ryan moved towards the surgical bed in the middle of the room. A plastic sheet was draped over her petite body not an expensive cuddly blanket he always draped her in. Her face was not overshadowed by it. A tube was in her mouth. Her eyes were closed and her blonde hair was sprawled around her head and was devoid of the shine that he loved about her hair. Her normally glowing complexion was flushed blue and Sandy feared to touch it because he knew he did not want the last memory of his wife's skin to feel like that of stone which has been outside in the cold for years. He knew the temperature of her skin would burn his fingers. He wanted to remember how soft and delicate it was when he ran his hands over her and he wanted to remember how her skin flushed after they made love.

"_Totally fuckable body"_

Then it hit him.

He would never kiss her, hug her, look into her eyes, wipe her tears away when she was sad or joyous, and hold her to him as she slept or make love to her again.

It took all his courage to look at his beautiful wife's face again.

"Could you . . . ?" Sandy asked indicating the tube.

"Of course," Edwards replied sympathetically.

Removing the tape that secured the tube, he crumpled it and pulled the tube out at the same time. Disposing of the tube her turned back to patient 29642021 and closed her mouth.

Name – Kirsten Cohen

Age – 38

Time of death – 16:23

Sandy could not stay this far away from her. Despite his reservations before he needed to feel her. Overcome with emotion he gathered his wife into his arms and held her fiercely to him. She didn't reciprocate his embrace. She just fell limply back in his arms. To Sandy, her body was far too cold to be his wife's. In desperation he rubbed his hands up and down her body trying to warm her up. Any second now she will open her eyes and bring her arms up around him because he warmed her. That's all she was cold . . . not dead. He had to warm her up. But it was no use.

Ryan just stood back and watched Sandy hold onto and cradle Kirsten. Ryan couldn't look at . . . the body. He could not bring himself to look at the lifeless body of the only woman who felt like a mother to him.

That morning she had been so lively, kissing Sandy, hugging Ryan and listening to Seth's sarcastic remarks about her love for his father and her attentiveness. She was just being Kirsten.

Now.

She's dead.

_I was too late!_

Ryan backed away from his mourning father. Ironic isn't it? All it takes is for Kirsten to die to make Ryan realise how much he loved her. He always prevented his actual mother from drinking herself to death but he couldn't have stopped Kirsten from dying for her family. A member of which he was now a part of.

Letting go, Sandy set his wife back down on the impersonal surface of the surgical bed. He has held her for the last time.

"I was too late, it's my fault," Ryan repeated to himself over and over again backing away.

"What? Ryan, what are you talking about?" Sandy asked.

"It's my fault she's dead."

"No, it's not. How can you say that son?"

"It is I should've intervened before the gunshot, if I was a second earlier she would be alive . . . it's my fault, it's my fault, it's my FAULT!"

Sandy immediately enveloped Ryan in a strong hug sensing that his son was on the verge of breaking down.

"You couldn't have prevented this from happening kid."

"I could've tried!"

"Kid."

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"

Ryan held onto Sandy like a five year old would hug their daddy after his mommy yelled at him.

"I love her . . . I wish I coulda called her 'mom' . . . I wish I coulda told her this . . . I wish I coulda saved her!"

"I know . . . I know . . . I wish I coulda too."

"I want her back!"

"Ssh Ryan son . . . calm down . . . I want her back too . . . come on," she said taking his son out of the room.

The initial claustrophobia of the room that overthrew Ryan finally wore off and he was able to breathe more rhythmically and steadily. He stopped shivering and he was able to think more clearly but it was still clouded.

"Ryan . . . why don't you go back to the waiting room?"

"Ok," Ryan nodded as he hugged Sandy.

Slowly and mournfully he walked back down the identical corridors to the waiting room.

Sandy remained behind in the silent corridor alone with his thoughts.

Caleb walked down the all too familiar path and came to a stop.

"I'm sorry Jennifer . . . I'm sorry I failed you . . . I couldn't protect our girl . . . I couldn't protect Kiki," he said kneeling down at his wife's grave.

Memories of his daughter came flooding back to him.

_The first time he held his daughter Kirsten when she was only 2 minutes old._

"_She's so small Jennifer . . . I'm so proud of you," he said kissing his wife's forehead, "She's beautiful, just like you . . . Kirsten Vanessa Nichol . . . welcome to the family."_

_Then he remember her first birthday and how he playfully chased after his daughter as she ran through the large house in her new pink dress and he blonde hair was in plaits and flowing behind her and she giggled gleefully and ran to her mommy as daddy chased her._

_Her first word . . . 'what was it? . . . ah yes I remember . . . dada.' He was her first word. His daughter said his name, not Caleb of course but dada._

_Her first day of school. She had her blonde hair all done up beautifully and she was dressed up like a Princess because he wanted to raise his daughter like a Princess and love her like she deserved to be loved._

_Report card after report card she came home with straight A's and he was so proud of his little girl._

_His daughter playing with his baby daughter. Kirsten took to Hailey immediately but Kirsten was always his firm favourite but by that age he had Kirsten wrapped around his little finger and that love he said he would have for her turned to greed. Greed for everyone to say how wonderfully he has raised his daughter and how wonderful she turned._

_The night he found Kirsten and Jimmy pouring beer down the toilet. He was furious that his perfect daughter was drinking underage and with the boy he wanted her to marry. He was stunned but at the same time found it rather funny._

_Then she moved to Berkeley._

_She left Newport._

_She left him._

_His first born had left him and grown up. He had always wanted her to spread her wings and fly but not to Berkeley to do art, even though she was a fantastic artist and always was, he wanted to keep her within his reach. He wanted to keep her forever his little girl._

_She got married to a boy he never approved of for her wanted a knight in shining armour for his Princess not the troll he saw which was Sandy Cohen from the Bronx. God, the Bronx. He still felt bad about not being there for her wedding and not walking her down the aisle like he was supposed to._

_He only ever wanted his daughter to be happy. Now she was dead. _

_Dead because of the troll she fell in love with. Sandy Cohen. Kirsten Cohen._

_Kirsten Vanessa Nichol_

_Kirsten Vanessa Nichol Cohen_

He remembered as he knelt the conversation he had with his wife before she fell asleep.

_"Caleb . . . promise me something," Jennifer asked,_

_"Anything."_

_"Take care of Kirsten," she said._

_"That's not much to ask."_

_"No you don't get it sweetheart . . . I want you to protect her like you have all these years . . . I will looking over her but I can't physically protect her . . . I need you to protect our girls but most importantly Kirsten . . . she needs to be protected. Promise me you will protect her."_

_"I'll always protect out little princess."_

_"Thank you . . . she needs you . . . she needs you and Sandy . . . she's our baby girl," Jennifer whispered thinking of her blonde child._

"I failed you Jennifer."

Back in the hospital, tear after tear fell from Sandy's eyes but he was completely unaware of them as they fell.

"Sandy?" a familiar voice asked,

Sandy looked down the corridor put saw no one there.

"Sandy?" it asked again but louder.

Again no one was to be seen.

Agitated, Sandy stood and looked around the corner to find a nurse looking at an x-ray with a doctor. Then he looked down the other corridor and saw no one.

"Sandy?" it asked again.

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**Well, that's the new chapter, and you can see why I put the apology at the top there can't you lol. Anyway please review and don't worry, everything was be explain in the next chapter, so click that wee button to review and you'll see what I mean.**


	3. Sometimes Dreams Don't Come True

**Again I apologise for killing Kirsten in the last chapter but I hope this chapter will be fine. This is for Michelle! It was sooooo painful killing her because I love her so much and she is my favourite character.**

**Disclaimer – You know what I mean, no OC character is mine. **

His wife was dead.

She wasn't coming back.

Never.

"Sandy?"

'Dammit'

Where the hell was that voice coming from?

"Sandy?"

Shut up, shut up, shut up!

Looking around the corridor he still saw no one around until he felt a hand descend on his shoulder.

"Sandy, wake up," Ryan said as Sandy's eyes squinted against the harsh lighting of the waiting room.

"W . . . Ryan?" Sandy asked, "Did I fall asleep? I can't believe I fell asleep . . . I can't believe she's dead."

"What? You don't know that . . . don't say that!" Ryan said.

"How can you say that? We saw her Ryan . . . we saw her dead."

"Sandy, she went unconscious and the paramedics said she stopped breathing on the way here but they got her back."

"She's not dead?"

"She's still in surgery and we haven't heard anything," Ryan answered, "It was just a bad dream."

"Sandy Cohen?" a man in a white coat asked approached the gathered family. Immediately Sandy stood but Ryan and Seth followed. Noticing this, Sandy indicated for them to sit back down which they did. Once his sons were seated he turned back to the doctor.

"Yes."

"Hello, I'm Doctor Adam Edwards I was working on your wife in the ER and in surgery," he greeted like he had many other husbands.

"I see . . . i-is she ok?" he replied summoning courage.

"Mr Cohen, why don't we go somewhere and talk?"

"No!" Sandy said a bit too forcefully, "I mean no, please just tell me . . . they'll find out anyway and I might not be able to tell them."

Doctor Edwards looked at the ensemble family and back to the pleading eyes of a dedicated and petrified husband. Sandy had the same look on his eyes as he did when Jeremy put that gun to her head.

"Ok, I'll just guess you won't take a seat so I'll continue..."

There was a long pause from Doctor Edwards.

The ticks and tocks of the wall clock in the waiting room reverberated in the space and it ticked slower than Sandy's heart. It was beating at a thousand beats a second but it would slow down when he heard the words he wanted to hear, "She's going to be fine".

"Kirsten suffered a few major punctures, one in her back and another in her lung. We were able to remove the bullet that was lodged in her chest and close the punctures. She lost a lot of blood but she's going to be just fine," he declared.

"Oh my god," Sandy breathed in relief, "Thank you so much Doctor," he continued shake Edwards' hand and turning to hug Ryan and then Seth.

"We're moved her to recovery where we would like to keep a watchful eye over her."

"Whatever is necessary," Sandy replied, "Thank you for everything."

"My pleasure."

Summer moved around the chairs and hugged Seth to her. Kirsten was going to be fine and she would have her 'mother' back in her life. Summer couldn't wait to hug Kirsten and reveal how unbelievably happy she is that she is alive and well and going to get better. She couldn't wait.

Seth hung onto Summer rejoicing in the fact that is mother was alive and not dead like he feared. Seth could just feel Kirsten hugging him and gently playing with his hair like she had done when he was a child. She was telling him that he was ok and that she wouldn't leave him until he was ready. He now knew that he may never be ready for her to leave. His blonde pretty mom was alive. He would savour every moment he had with her because he knew he never had enough moments with her. He missed his mother.

Marissa smiled and hugged Ryan. Her sister was going to be fine. Step-sister, whatever. What matters is is that Kirsten is her sister and she loves her. Kirsten had a great sense of style and she always welcomed her and even if she wasn't welcome in her own home, she knew that she was welcome with her step-sister.

'She's going to be fine'

He hadn't failed his wife. He hadn't broken the promise he made to protect her daughter all those years ago. She was fine. Fine. Fine. She'll be back to work soon so he'll have to figure out what work to give her.

'_Don't even think about it Caleb'_ a voice in his head said.

No, no work. I'll let her come back at her own pace.

Julie hugged Caleb as she realised that her step-daughter and her best friend was not dead. She would be able to bitch about Caleb to her and talk to her about Marissa and everything that was bothering her. She wouldn't have to risk scrutiny from the Newpsies because Kirsten never judged anyone.

The love of his life was alive. He could kiss her, hug her and talk to her again. His dream was horrible and it felt wonderful to know that he could do all the things we wanted to do with his wife and not have them be no more like they were in his dream. He could see her smile again.

"_Are you sure you have the right patient? Kirsten Cohen? Blonde hair, blue eyes, adorable nose, stubborn as a mule but in a loveable way. Kirsten Cohen! She can't be dead, not yet she can't, she's too precious to this world . . . to me. She's not supposed to die!"_

Just thinking about his rambling in his dream he realised that he forgot to mention her smile. The smile that she smiled could stop his heart or melt that of one with a heart of ice or stone. She was just so innocent and adorably loveable.

"Can I see her?" he asked breaking away from his sons.

"Of course, she's resting so I suggest immediate family."

"You, Seth and Ryan go, we'll wait," Julie suggested holding Caleb's arm.

"Caleb you wanna come?" Sandy asked.

"No . . . she'll wanna see you guys first. I'll go after."

"You sure grandpa?"

"Yeh."

"Ok," Seth answered as he followed his father and brother down the hall.

She was alive.

Alive.

Alive.

Alive.

Sandy had prepared himself for the worst when she fell limp in his arms and when she stopped breathing in the ambulance. The images of the paramedics moving around her and giving her CPR and opening her blouse to start compressions flashed in his mind's eye. He was unaccustomed to her eyes being closed like they were. Closed and he mouth was closed. She always slept with her mouth open a little bit. Always.

She was alive.

They approached the room that she was in and naturally slowed down before they looked through the window of the door.

She was asleep on a comfortable bed with blankets pulled up to her chest with her arms resting by her sides on top on the blankets. She has an oxygen tube in her nose and her hair was pristinely moulded by her face.

The three men she loved entered the room.

"It was touch and go for a while but she'll be just fine. You can stay here for a while but just be careful of the I.V line in this arm," he said indicating her left arm, "and if there are any problems just push this button," he continued motioning to the button by her bed.

"Thank you."

"If you'll excuse me," he said as he left the room.

Her skin was its normal complexion if not somewhat pale.

Reaching forward, Sandy moved stray strands of hair off of her face and behind her ear wary of the oxygen tube there. Then he sat down on her right side and held her hand and kissed it.

"That's my girl . . . don't leave us."

Seth took a seat on the bed by the foot of the bed and Ryan pulled up a chair and looked at his mother.

They sat in silence and listened to her breathing and revealing in the mere sound because they knew that she was still with them. But her breathing was rather shallow and painful.

"Dad? Is she supposed to be breathing like that?" Seth asked.

"I don't think so son . . . but Doctor Edwards did say that the b-bullet punctured her lung."

"So she may have difficulty breathing?" Seth asked again.

"I don't know son, I'm not a Doctor."

"Mom . . . if you can hear me, stop breathing like that because you're scaring me."

But her breathing still stayed in its erratic rhythm.

Feeling uncomfortable, Seth stood, "Uh you guys want anything, coffee, chocolate?"

"No I'm good thanks," Sandy answered.

"No thanks," Ryan answered.

"You can go if you want."

"Ok, I'll be back in a minute," he said leaving the room silently.

"I'm so sorry Sandy."

"For what?"

"For not intervening earlier . . . for letting her get shot."

"Ryan . . . she's going to be fine, I don't blame you and neither will she . . . I should actually be thanking you because if you had not have been there . . . he would have killed me and left her for dead, sorry to be blunt but you saved us," Sandy said.

"But she still got hurt."

"I know . . . I promised her mom before she died that I would protect Kirsten from the evil of the world and love her the way she deserves to be loved and I failed because evil did hurt her. But that reminds me . . . how come you were at the house?"

"Uh well I forgot a text book I needed for Western Civ and I came back for it but I noticed your cars there so I thought I would say 'Hi' and be on my way but I needed to ask Kirsten about architecture. I went out the pool house but as I looked over to your room I saw Kirsten being held by someone . . . I came back into the house and went across the hall and saw you standing in the room. I heard some stranger's voice and I heard her pleading . . . I went into your en suite bathroom and went on into the closet and waited . . . I didn't know he had a gun and when I heard the gunshot and Kirsten scream I just bolted into the room and tackled him."

"I'm grateful you were there when you were."

"I'm just glad she's ok because I don't think I could live with myself if anything happened to her."

"Kirsten has that effect on people," Sandy whispered.

Ryan smiled at the comment.

Just before Ryan could speak they heard a soft gurgle coming from somewhere in the room.

"Kirsten?" Sandy asked.

"What is she ok?"

"Kirsten?"

Her neck arched and sickening noises came from her throat.

"Ryan hit the button there!"

Ryan did as instructed and pressed the red button.

Several seconds later a nurse entered.

"What's happening?" she asked kindly.

"I dunno, she keeps making these noises," Sandy said.

The nurse approaches Kirsten as listens attentively to the gurgling noises coming from Kirsten.

"She's trying to vomit," she announced, "help me get her onto her side but be careful of her back."

Sandy stood and Ryan went around to Sandy and helped to gently manoeuvre Kirsten onto her side. The nurse opened Kirsten's mouth and Kirsten's neck arched and she threw up what was in her throat. It was a mixture of blood and vomit.

Sandy noticed the red colouring, "Is that supposed to happen? The blood?"

"Yeh, it's just the body's way of getting rid of some of the blood from the internal bleeding. Don't worry . . . she's fine . . . that's a girl," she said kindly as Kirsten finished vomiting. She delicately wiped Kirsten's mouth and asked Sandy and Ryan to put Kirsten back to where she was.

Several hours later and after Seth and Ryan had gone home to get some rest and showered, Sandy remained besides his wife laying his head on the bed beside her.

Drip . . . bang.

Drip . . . bang.

That is what she kept hearing.

As she slowly became conscious of her surroundings her ears were being harassed by the dropping fluid in her drip. Each drip as it dropped sounded like a gunshot to her.

Drip . . . bang.

Drip . . . bang.

Drip . . . bang.

She squeezed her eyes closed even tighter in an attempt to block out the noises.

"No . . . no . . . stop," she screamed as she squirmed.

Sandy was startled awake by his wife's sudden movement and pleas.

"Kirsten?" he asked as he held her shoulders trying to calm her flailing body.

"Kirsten, calm down," he said as she continued to fight him and scream and squirm frightened.

"No!"

"Open your eyes . . ."

"No!" she screamed.

She didn't know that it was actually Sandy who was speaking to her. All she heard was Jeremy's voice ordering her to open her eyes as he pinned her by her shoulders to the bedroom wall and she remembered feeling his hand on her side and grabbing the toned flesh there.

"Kirsten, stop fighting me and open your eyes," Sandy asked.

"No, leave me alone!"

"Kirsten, it's me, Sandy."

"No, you're not."

"Kirsten, it's Sandy, honey come on."

"Don't hurt me, please don't hurt me," she begged in fear.

"Kear . . . open your eyes and see."

Her eyes flew open and she was welcomed by the azure blue and loving eyes of her husband.

"S-Sandy?" she asked between breaths.

"Hey gorgeous."

"H-ey."

She started to cough violently and she began to struggle to breathe. The pitch of the cough was very dull and dry and it echoed around the room.

"Kirsten honey?"

"I c-can't breathe!" she said gasping for air.

"Ok . . . calm down sweetie."

"I-I-I c-can't."

"Ok."

Sandy pressed the button to summon help because he had no idea as to what to do. The only thing he knew how to do was make Kirsten happy and protect although he wasn't to sure in his ability in the latter activity.

After pressing to button, he turned his attention back to his struggling wife. He wished he could swap places with her but she can't. He held her head and held her eyes with his while she held desperately onto Sandy and tried to breathe but she was failing miserably.

"Yes?" a young nurse asked.

"I'm sorry but she's having trouble breathing and she can't seem to calm down to breathe."

"Ok," she said as she peered back out the door, "Doctor Edwards!" she called down the hall.

A second later Doctor Edwards came into the room.

"Kirsten, I see you're awake."

"Yeh but she's having trouble breathing."

"What happened?" Edwards asked.

"She woke up petrified and when I actually got her to open her eyes, she couldn't breathe."

"Kirsten. Kirsten you're hyperventilating so I'm gonna put a bag over your mouth and I want you to breathe into ok? Try to take deep steady breathes ok?" he gently asked her.

Kirsten merely nodded.

Edward placed the bag over her mouth and held it in place.

"Breathe in . . . . . . and out, good girl."

Sandy hold onto Kirsten's hand and she squeezed it for strength.

"And again for me Kirsten, breathe in . . . . . . and out. That's it, just keep doing that. In and out. That's it."

It continued like this for about two minutes.

Kirsten kept breathing in and out trying to calm her erratic breathing pattern as Sandy held her hand and stroked her arm with his free hand.

"Is that you back to normal?" Edwards asked as he removed the bag.

Kirsten nodded, "I think so."

"I'm not surprised you had difficultly breathing, it was to be expected."

"Yes, thank you Doctor."

"You're welcome. Now Kirsten, I want you to get some rest. I'll check on you later," he said as he left Sandy and Kirsten alone.

"Are you ok?"

"Am I ok? Kirsten sweetie, I should be the one asking you if you are ok."

"Are you?"

"Yeh I'm fine baby, are you?" Sandy asked.

"I'm ok . . . but that's what I get for being shot huh?"

Sandy tried to smile but he couldn't.

"Why did you do that baby? Why did you take the bullet for me?"

"People do crazy things . . . when they're in love."

"Aw, Kirsten," he said as he leant forward and left a lingering kiss on her lips. She reciprocated his kiss.

He could kiss her again, hug her and make love to her again because she wasn't dead.

"I love you . . . and don't you ever do that again," he said.

"I love you too, and I will . . . because I don't ever wanna see you get hurt."

"If I could switch places with you I would in a heartbeat."

"But then you would be in pain and I would want to switch places with you . . . we'll be trapped in a switching circle because I don't wanna see you and pain and vice versa," she said as a short burst of pain roared through her chest but it was over before she knew it, "I'd rather be here than see you here."

"You are too precious to me for you to be risky your life like that."

"It's mine to risk and I'm sure you would've done the same thing if our roles were reversed."

"Damn straight I would," Sandy said as he cupped her cheek.

"But you are too precious to me! I can't live without Sandy . . . you are my heart and I can't live without my heart," she said taking his hand to her chest to feel her heart beating.

"I love you Sandy and I will always protect you."

"You don't have to protect me . . . but I love you and I will always vow to protect you," he whispered taking her lips again in a passionate lingering kiss.

His wife was alive and well, but he didn't think that it would be the end of her problems.

There was more to come.

The good and the bad.

**I hope this has put me back in the good books of some certain Kirsten fans. Yes, chapter 2 was a dream sequence and it was always planned as that. It originally supposed to be Kirsten is a coma and imagining it but I thought I'd make Sandy dream it.**

**Reviews are more than welcome. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed the previous chapters because they all made my day.**


	4. Sometimes Dad Doesn't Know Best

**I am amazed at the response this fic has gotten and I am extremely grateful for ever word in the reviews. You all know who you are and I thank you. Thanks especially to britgirl2003, Dopplegriff, Kerche and kandy4eva itsallOC for all their support. Love you gals!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own any OC character.

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Kirsten has fallen asleep exhausted due to a combination of painkillers and the persistent echo of pain that racked through her tiny body. Sandy had been by her side throughout the night holding her small hand as he watched her chest rise and fall and watched her dream. Hopefully not recalling the day before.

He rubbed his thumb gingerly over her hand and absentmindedly grazed her wedding rings. When he saw those rings for the first time in the jewellers all those years ago, he thought they were worthy of her finger. He was prepared to save up money, work double shifts until he passed out just to pay for them and see her eyes light up when he presented it to her. When he actually first put them on her finger he thought it was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen . . . that is after her of course. She always came first.

Now, as he looks at her finger realises that those have rings have been on her finger for nearly twenty years, actually twenty if he had bought them earlier but all the extra hours he put in, although tough, were completely worth it.

She loved her rings and she had kept them all these years and he loved that she still had them on her finger albeit she would have preferred them to be welded to her skin.

After examining the rings fit for a princess he gently stoked her arm.

'How many times have I actually stroked this arms?' he though.

Too many times to count was the answer.

He stroked her arm when she was in his arms as they slept, as he caressed her hand and held her arm during a romantic evening, as he reached to hold her hand and when she cuddled up to him while on the couch.

He was so happy his dream didn't come true and that he could still do this type of thing.

"Sanford?" Caleb said entering the darkened room.

"Ssh," Sandy replied quietly indicating Kirsten, "she's sleeping."

"Sorry," he said closing the door carefully afraid to wake his sleeping daughter, "How long has she been asleep?"

"A couple of hours I guess."

"You? You gotten any sleep?"

"About an hours worth, I couldn't sleep unless I knew she was fine."

"Why don't you go home and get a shower and some rest?"

"I don't wanna leave her," he said tucking a strand of hair behind his wife's ear.

"Well . . . you won't be any good to her exhausted," Caleb stated, "go home . . . I'll take care of her."

Sandy looked up at the aging man that he has fought with for over twenty years because he married Kirsten. They had next to nothing in common but the one thing they agreed on was Kirsten, the welfare of the raven beauty that was lying beside them. Kirsten actually was the only reason Caleb had a heart after the loss of his wife.

"Go," he repeated.

Looking back at how content and peaceful Kirsten appeared in her sleep he sighed and smiled slightly at her.

"Alright, I'll go but I'll be back soon.

"I know."

"Take care of her."

"I will."

As he stood up to leave he gently placed a butterfly kiss on her forehead and Caleb saw a slight tug and her mouth as she smiled at Sandy's touch.

Then as he approached the door to leave he took one last look at the love of his life and absorbed her very glow for he knew he would not be able to make it down the corridor without making doubly sure that she was fine with him that far away.

Caleb took the seat beside his beloved daughter replacing Sandy.

He knew no man could ever replace Sandy in her life.

No man.

He held Kirsten's hand and was brought back to the summer when she was four and was terribly sick. She was rendered bed-ridden against her wishes but she was too sick to do anything besides sleep, drink water and swallow the antibiotics prescribed to her. He gave up work and stayed with his baby girl and was there when she deliriously cried out "Daddy," and he was there to soothe his distressed child.

He held her hand and felt the wedding rings she has welded to her finger.

'How often have I seen her fiddling with those?' he thought.

Too many to count.

She always fiddled with them when she has a problem and she twisted them around her slender finger as if the mere action gave her energy and that the pure essence of Sandy was captured in the diamond of her engagement ring. The one he spent so much time and effort getting for his beautiful daughter. He actually approved of the rings she wore because they were worthy of his little princess.

She loved Sandy. She is in love with Sandy and Caleb knew it.

Once his daughter had her mind set, it was practically impossible to change.

He knew she loved him she he first met Sandy.

He knew when he caught them making out in the swimming pool.

He knew when they got married.

He knew when she gave birth to Seth.

She loved Sandy.

His daughter had grown up.

But as Caleb looked at his blonde daughter he didn't see a thirty-eight year old entrepreneur but he saw his four year old daughter who always ran into his arms when he came home from work and always kissed him once on the cheek when he lifted her up into the safety of his arms.

No matter what age she would be, she will always be his child.

Just as he finished that sentence in his mind Kirsten started to shift and moan.

"Ssh, Kiki, I'm here," he whispered soothingly.

She turned her head away towards the other side of the room and asked, "Sandy?" before opening her eyes.

Seeing that her husband wasn't present at that side she naturally moved her head towards her left and saw Caleb.

"Dad? Hey . . . where's Sandy?" she asked groggily.

"I sent him home to get some rest."

"And he actually listen to you?" she smiled.

"Yeh I guess he did."

"I wonder why that is?"

"Perhaps you getting yourself shot," he muttered under his breath as he stood but Kirsten heard every word. She may be hospitalized but she wasn't deaf.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kirsten asked.

"Why Kirsten?" he asked looking back at her, "Why did you do that?"

"What?" she asked taken aback by his blunt question.

"Why did you have to protect him?"

"Because I love him."

"That's not a reason Kirsten!"

"It is to me."

"How? How is that a reason?"

Kirsten took a quick breath to hide that the echoing pain in her lung was coming, but before Caleb noticed it had subsided.

"Dad, look at me."

He refused.

"Look at me," she asked again and was answered by the raising of his eyes, "do you like seeing me here? Do you?"

"No."

"If Sandy were here in this bed after having a bullet taken out of his chest, I would do everything in my power to trade places with him but I knew that it would hurt far more to look at him in pain than to actually be in myself. I could not live with myself if he ever got hurt for me."

"That's what I get for letting you marrying him," he said under his breath again.

"Excuse me?"

"What about me Kiki?"

"Oh here we go," she groaned as she lay back against the pillows and closed her eyes.

"I promised that I would protect you."

"I never asked you to!" Kirsten replied opening her eyes.

"But your mother did!" he said raising his voice.

Kirsten was taken aback by his sudden outburst and his choice of words.

"What does mom have to do with this?" Kirsten asked as she sat up against the pillows wondering what he meant.

"Nothing."

That wasn't the answer she wanted.

Caleb turned away from his daughter for the millionth time in her life.

She hated it when he did that.

"Dad," she paused, "You can't say something like that and leave it out in the open . . . what has mom got to do with me protecting Sandy?"

Caleb paused as he rehearsed what he was going to tell Kirsten. How was he going to tell her how he has tried to protect her over the last ten odd years?

"B . . . before your mother died she asked me to do something for her . . . naturally I could never refuse your mother, so she made me promise . . . vow even, to protect you from the evil and badness of the world . . . up until now I've succeeded . . . but someone bad hurt you. I've failed your mother."

"Dad . . . if you say you protect me, then why do you hurt me so much?" she asked in a small uncharacteristic voice.

"I don't know honey."

"Look dad, I'm thirty-eight, although I can't believe I'm actually admitting it . . . but I'm thirty eight not eight, I don't need you to protect me every time I turn around or someone steps on my shadow. I've grown up . . . look dad I appreciate you trying to protect me but it's my life-"

"Which you shouldn't be gambling with! You are too precious to this world!" he yelled passionately as he interrupted her and approached her.

"Don't you understand Kirsten? Everyone here revolves around you and believe it or not we rely on you to keep us sane," he said placing his hands on her shoulders and looking into the eyes she inherited from her mother, "When you are happy we are happy, when you are sad, we are sad. . . . if we had have lost you this family would fall apart and we wouldn't know our places . . . you are my baby daughter, my first born child and when I first held you I swore to myself that I would protect you."

"Dad."

"Listen to me Kiki, you are my world and I would do anything for you."

"Anything huh?"

"Anything, you name it."

"Could you let go of me?"

Noticing that his gip had tightened on her shoulders he relinquished his grasp and stood up straight.

"Thank you," she replied massaging her shoulder absentmindedly.

"Kirsten, no matter what age you are you will always be my four year old daughter who ran to me when I came home from work and who I spent two weeks trying to keep her in her bed because she was sick and wanted to dance in the backyard.

Her face softened as he recalled that summer, "Oh dad," she choked as she extended her arms out in a hug in which Caleb went into and held onto his precious daughter.

Coming out of it Kirsten commented, "I've never seen this side of you so I better savour it," she laughed, "but know this . . . if I could do it all over again, I would step in front of that bullet for all eternity because I told mom that I would protect Sandy."

"I know," he said sitting down, "what do you see in him anyway?"

Kirsten laughed at his question and Caleb revelled in hearing his daughter laugh in his presence because recently the only thing he ever saw Kirsten do was be crushed and cry.

"Have you seen him?" she asks raising an eyebrow.

"Kirsten, it's me you're talking to here."

"So?" she laughed again, "I'm only kidding you dad. He's just so wonderful and I love him more than I've loved anyone before in my life. She treats me the way I always of being treated, gently, lovingly and like a princess. Jimmy saw me as a princess – Newport Royalty but Sandy," she said his affectionately, "he treats me like a princess and holds me like at any minute I'm going to break and he is so tender and he just knows exactly what to say and do to make me feel better. I believe in soul mates dad and I believe with all my heart that Sandy is mine."

"That is such sentimental crap," he answered nonchalantly.

Kirsten tilted her head expectantly at him, "Dad."

"I'm sorry Kiki . . . that was lovely what you said, how long have you been rehearsing that?"

"Dad!"

"Kiki?"

"I wrote it in my diary on our first anniversary," she answered looking at her wedding rings.

"Well, I can't believe I am actually going to say this . . . but Sandy is lucky to have you and worthy of my daughter."

"Wow, only twenty one years for you to say that, what took you so long?" she said sarcastically.

"His dedication had shown me this . . . and judging by that sarcastic remark I can tell he has worn off of her."

"Yep that he has," she smiled.

Kirsten looked at her wedding rings and brought them up to her chest and held them firmly in between her thumb and fore finger as she closed her eyes and remembered every second of Sandy placing the rings on her finger.

"Any word when I can get out of here?" she asked.

"They want to keep you one more night and they'll release you tomorrow . . . and don't even try to get out of here before then."

"Don't worry dad, I'm not gonna try and go outside and dance in the backyard with the dog," she laughed.

"That's my girl."

"Thanks dad . . . for being here and for telling me . . . about what mom said."

"She loves you."

"I know," she sighed, "I miss her."

"Me too."

Kirsten placed her hand over her father's and they stayed like that in a comfortable silence and the light of dawn continued to filter into the room.

She couldn't wait for Sandy to be sitting beside her but she was content with her father, no not her father . . . for the first time in a long time she was sitting with her daddy.

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**That is the new chapter so please please tell me what you think. I know there was practically zero Kandy in this but in upcoming chapters there will be more I promise you that. Again, thank you to all who have reviewed the previous chapters, hugs to all of you. I'm really glad you the story and you are the reason that I keep writing instead of revising for exams, lol. But I'm actually gonna study now, so expect longer gaps between updates. **


	5. Sometimes Pain Doesn't Leave Quickly

**Hey, I thought that I hadn't updated this one in a while I thought I'd update this today and maybe the other one tomorrow. Thanks to Mitchie, Mishie, Sunny, Michelle and Emzzie (luv ya girl). Thanks for all your continuing support through writing these and my exams. Cheers!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own any OC character.

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**

"Hey sweetie," Kirsten greeted quietly.

"Hi," her son waved awkwardly from the door.

Seth shuffled into the room with his hands sown into his pockets and his eyes bounced from object to object frantically but he looked at everything except his mother in the hospital bed.

"So uh," he began hesitantly and Kirsten smiled sadly, "H-how are you?"

"I'm fine thanks honey, you?"

"Good uh good," he answered quickly scratching the bridge of his nose.

Unbelievably, an awkward silence befell them. Kirsten became uncomfortable with her son's silence because ever since he began talking, he never seemed to have the ability to shut up. But the fact that he was silent around her said something to her.

He was uncomfortable around her.

Uncertain.

Weird.

When he was smaller, she was the one he always ran to, the one he always wanted to hug and let her kiss his sores better. Now at seventeen, he hardly said two words to her.

Wait.

Two words exactly.

"Good morning."

Or.

"Hey mom."

Their mother/son bond had deteriorated.

'_I'm the reason he ran away'_ she kept thinking throughout summer. '_He hates me.'_

"You know," she laughed sadly, "I won't break if you talk to me."

Hearing her voice he looked into her eyes.

When did his mother look so young?

"Sorry, it's just a little . . ." he trailed off.

"Awkward?"

Seth simply nodded.

"That word has been floating around my head ever since you walked through that door."

"I'm sorry," he sighed as he sat himself down at the end of the bed.

"No Seth, I should be the one apologizing-"

"No mom no . . . I mean . . . I know haven't, you know, spoken to you since . . . well in a while . . . and when I heard you had gotten s-shot . . . I froze, I literally froze."

"I'm sure you did."

"Well . . . I was afraid that you were dead and in that moment I was afraid I'd lost you for ever."

Seth paused and Kirsten saw a glimpse of her baby boy but she was sorry that the reason he was opening up to her was that she had been shot and he thought he had lost her and that she had left him.

"Seth."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

"It's that waiting in the waiting room - obviously – I realised something that I shoulda realised a long time ago."

When he didn't continue his sentence, Kirsten simply asked, "What was that?"

"I'm not ready to lose you . . . I'm not."

Before Kirsten could respond to his emotional waterfall of love for her, there was knock on the door and they simultaneously looked towards the door.

"Hey," Sandy greeted as he and Doctor Edwards came in.

"Hey," Seth and Kirsten repeated together.

"Do you want me to give you guys some privacy cuz I could like go find Ryan or get some coffee," Seth rambled.

"Seth."

"You can stay," Sandy answered.

"Kay," he simply said.

"Uh Doctor Edwards, this is our son Seth."

"Nice to meet you," Edwards said shaking Seth's hand.

"Yeh same here."

"Ok, Kirsten, I am very pleased with your progress so I see no harm in releasing you today and we will give you some painkillers in case you need them."

"Great."

"Thanks doctor."

"You're welcome. Kirsten, I wanna see you back here in about two weeks to get those stitches out and see how your lung is."

"No problem."

"Ok, well I'll be back later with your discharge papers."

"Thank you," Kirsten said as Doctor Edwards left the room, "So home today!"

"I'll go tell Ryan."

"Ok son," Sandy said as Seth enthusiastically walked out the door and down the hall.

"You okay?" Kirsten asked.

"Me? I'm fine . . . relieved your coming home because I hate seeing you in this hospital bed."

"Would I rather I were in ours?" she smiled suggestively.

"You know it," Sandy replied leaning forward and gently kissing her.

Neither Sandy nor Kirsten wanted to break away from their stolen kiss and their lips refused to let go from their desperate and much needed embrace.

"Looking forward to going home?" he breathed.

"With you?" she asked before kissing him again, "Always."

"Really?"

"What do you think?"

Sandy feigned stupidity because he knew she loved him more than anything but he just loved to hear her say the three words he had wanted to say to her the very time they met and the three words he first said to her in the rain.

"You're gorgeous and hot and I love you so much and I'm in love with you still . . . you know lying here has taught me something."

"Not to jump in front of bullets?"

"No . . .that I am very lucky to have you and to be your wife . . . and at times I think that I don't deserve to be loved by you."

"Aw Kirsten . . . how did I ever get you to love her?" he whispered cupping her china cheek, "and don't use your 'I was drunk' sarcastic remark," he laughed.

"Well you and Seth rub off," she smiled, "How did you get me to love you? Hmmmm, there isn't just one reason, there are lots . . . you love me, you protect me from everything that might hurt me, you gave me my sons, you are always here for me . . . and the sex is great."

Kirsten laughed after her last remark after Sandy started to laugh and for the first time, her lung didn't hurt when she laughed.

"Ah well, as long as that's the main reason," he replied sarcastically as he held her hand in his.

All their silences were comfortable and this was no exception.

They were either thinking about being in each others arms on the couch while Kirsten rested her head against his shoulder or had her legs draped over her lap. One way or another they were thinking of spending time with each other and cherishing it.

"Kirsten, honey promise me something."

"You know I'll keep jumping in front of bullets for you."

"I know and I wish you wouldn't but . . . don't be strong for me ok? If you wanna cry or scream, I want you to let me be there for you as you cry your heart out or scream so the foundations shake."

Kirsten was never one to show her own thoughts and feelings for everyone showed theirs to her and she never wanted to burden people with her own demons but when she met Sandy, he became the only person she permitted to see her 'naked' so to speak. Her wall was not associated with Sandy as he would walk right through it but he would easily scale it and come to her if it was erected around her.

So his request didn't seem like much.

"Of course, I will always tell you."

"That's my girl," he whispered kissing her on the forehead.

"I love you."

"I love you too baby."

"And I don't ever wanna leave you."

"I don't ever want you to leave me . . . you are my soul and I know that Seth would call the last few moment incredibly sappy and make him wanna puke but . . . when I was in the waiting room when they took you, I dreamt that you had died . . . and I do not want that dream to come true."

"Sandy."

"I didn't want the last time I kissed you, or hugged you or made love to you to be without my knowledge because I wasn't ready to lose you and I guess I never will be but if the time comes, the only time I wanna lose you . . . is when we are old and happy after lots more kisses, more hugs, more love making, more everything and we go together at the exact same time . . . and I just lose you for that however brief moment."

"I have that same plan."

"Good, because I plan on growing old with you."

"Oh really . . . that's not far off."

"You haven't aged a bit since the day I met you."

"You always know the right thing to say," Kirsten said taking his hand to her heart and let her free hand go around his neck and brought his head down to her lips.

Their kiss was loving and desperate as Sandy feared not kissing her again.

"God dad, even when she's in a hospital bed you can't keep your lips off her."

"Nice to see you again Seth," Sandy said breaking away for all of an inch before he quickly stole another kiss from his beautiful wife.

"Saw that."

"I was hoping you would."

"Definitely scarred for life now."

"Seth, if I wanna kiss your father I will."

"Just not around me please."

"That might be a problem," she giggled playing with Sandy's hair.

"Ok, Seth why don't you go back to the house with Ryan and pick up some clothes for your mother."

"Anything to get away from these PDAs."

"Well expect more of them son," Sandy said as he tossed Seth the keys to the car.

"Hey now there's something to look forward to."

"I'll say," Sandy remarked.

"Clothes – mom's – got it – going."

With that Seth shuffled out of the room to find Ryan again.

"We can have some fun with this," Kirsten smiled as Seth left the room.

* * *

Kirsten climbed out of the range rover and walked around it to the few steps in front of the house. Sandy had to resist the urge to lift her over the threshold in his arms and carry her into the house. She was fragile and he thought that anything could break her.

For the first time in twenty years, well eighteen years, he viewed Kirsten like a china doll. One drop and she's broken for ever. One crack and it's only a matter of time before it breaks.

China Kirsten.

He followed her into the house and she went to the kitchen much to Sandy's surprise considering as she was tired and exhausted. Kirsten got a glass of water and quickly downed it as the fluid hydrated her throat. The water in the hospital was not even water to Kirsten, it had no taste, it was just dry.

"Hey welcome home," a voice came from the family room.

"Hey girls."

Summer and Marissa greeted Kirsten each with a hug.

"I'm glad you're ok Mrs Cohen."

"Oh thank you Summer."

"How are you?" Marissa then asked.

"Better now that I'm home and I have my boys and my back will be a lot better now."

"Why's that?" Summer asked.

"Lying on those hospital beds was like lying on bricks; at least I have my own bed now."

"Yeh they are uncomfortable," Marissa confirmed.

"Well glad to know I'm not the only one who thinks that," she smiled.

Sandy, after leaving the painkillers prescribed into her cabinet in their bathroom, came into the family room.

"Summer, Marissa hello."

"Hey Mr Cohen," they both greeted in unison.

"Hey guys," Seth said coming into the room with Ryan following.

"Hey," Summer repeated as Seth put his arm around her.

"So, how is everyone?" Kirsten asked.

"Good."

"Fine."

"Do you girls wanna stay for dinner? We'll order in, order whatever you want, we'll have a mini like celebration," Sandy asked as he put his arm around Kirsten's svelte waist.

"God dad, what did I say? No sex in the family room," Seth moaned.

Hearing Seth's sarcastic remark, Summer slapped Seth on the stomach at which he playfully recoiled.

"What?" he laughed.

Sandy and Kirsten smiled at Summer's defence of their PDAs and Kirsten rested her head against Sandy's shoulder.

Ryan by this point had moved to beside Marissa and draped his muscular arm around her neck and over her shoulder before kissing her head.

"So you girls staying?" Kirsten repeated.

"Try and stop us," Summer answered, "and besides, I have to stop Seth from making an ass of himself."

"That'll be hard Summer," Ryan commented.

"Dude!"

"Sorry."

"Come on, let's get the take-out menus before something happens," Kirsten said as she motioned Sandy towards the kitchen 'like someone gets shot' she thought after she had finished speaking.

"Good idea," Marissa agreed walking with Ryan following Sandy and Kirsten.

* * *

"_A totally fuckable body."_

_The feeling of his tongue on her cheek._

"_Killer legs."_

_The gun pressed against her temple_

Kirsten had flashbacks of that night and she was finding it incredibly difficult to sleep with these images berating her.

"_Totally . . . let her go . . . fuckable . . . beautiful . . . body."_

"_I think I'm just gonna kill you now!"_

_His hand on her breast._

_Bang_

As the gunshot in her dream boomed and lingered in her head, she sat bolt upright silently taking a startled breath.

At first she had to struggle to breathe and she wanted Sandy to envelope her and protect her from Jeremy but he couldn't when he was in her dreams. Sandy's arms were not around her instead, one was draped over the side of the bed and the other was running along the side of his body.

He was fast asleep.

Kirsten thought he looked serene in his sleep so she didn't want to wake him and tell him she wasn't emotionally over the incident. Yes, the blood on the carpet had been painstakingly removed and any evidence of his presence had been eradicated but it wasn't enough.

Kirsten got out of the bed quietly and wrapped a blanket around her shoulders and held it firmly to her small body. With the blanket secure she made her way to the kitchen and went to the fridge.

Looking in, she saw several bottles of soda, milk, orange juice and a bottle of vodka. At first she was gonna take a little vodka to calm her nerves but she refused because she feared it would upset her stomach at this time of night.

What time was it anyway?

She quickly looked at her watch which read 4:25am.

'Shit' Kirsten moaned in her head.

It was half four in the morning but she didn't want to go back to bed because she knew he would be waiting for her in her sleep there. Everything in her room reminded her of that day. The walls – her back rebounding off it and Jeremy pressing himself against her on the wall. Frantically the words he said and the molesting and hurt forever swirled in the room and always hurt her one way or the other. Sometimes she didn't realise it and other times it screamed in her face and her recuperating lung would seize up until the non-corporeal berating passed.

She knew she promised Sandy that she would tell him if she wasn't fine but at the moment she felt four thirty in the morning wasn't a good time.

Considering as she didn't want to go back to bed she got a glass of water and settled herself on the touch and turned the television on and lowered the volume quickly before it disturbed anyone in the house.

Flicking through the channels she settled on a movie called 'Finding Nemo' and the antics of Dory put a smile on Kirsten's face. While she was watching it, Dory reminded her of Summer. Summer was funny and rather hyperactive and she thought kind of ditzy at times but she was a sweet girl.

Gil reminded her of Sandy. Sandy has been through 'the wars' so to speak and he always protected those smaller than him.

Nemo reminded Kirsten of herself. At the minute she felt like a scared child looking for her daddy but in her case she wanted mommy and Sandy. But like Nemo, mommy was gone.

As the movie progressed, her eyelids naturally became heavier and heavier and before she could prevent it she was asleep on the couch with Finding Nemo still playing and Dory acting ditzy.

* * *

Half and hour after Kirsten fell asleep, Seth shuffled his way into the kitchen. Half asleep he quickly retrieved a glass of water and as he was about to leave the kitchen, he heard the sound of the television from the family room.

Curiously he walked in and saw Dory singing, "Keep swimming, keep swimming," but as he came around the couch he found a mound of blonde hair and grey pants and a maroon top. Well Ryan didn't have hair that long or boobs so he knew it was his mother.

"Mom?" he whispered hoping she was awake.

He got no answer so he crouched down and saw her eyes closed.

Knowing full well that she has had a rough time recently and needed her rest, being a good son he didn't want to wake her and decided to let her sleep. Well, those reasons and the fact that he didn't want to carry his mother back to bed. He remembered that she always carried him to bed when he fell asleep when he was younger and gently tucked him into bed.

Before he left he noticed the blanket on the floor. Setting his glass on the table beside her empty one, he picked up the blanket and draped it over her being attentive to tuck it behind her back and to cover her feet. He pulled it up to her chin and quickly turned off the television.

"Night mom," he whispered.

He lifted up his glass and whispered, "sweet dreams," before walking down the hall back to bed.

* * *

Sandy woke up and instinctively reached for Kirsten but he was greeted by a cold space where she would traditionally be.

"Kirsten?" he asked out loud.

He sleepily looked around the bedroom and by the time his eyes came to the closet he was sitting up. His gaze settled on the digital clock which read 07:03. This would usually be the time he would be surfing but since Kirsten was injured he didn't want to be away from her.

Getting up he looked in the closet.

Not there.

The bathroom door was closed so he thought she might be having a shower.

"Kirsten?" he asked tapping lightly on the door, "You decent?"

Again no answer.

A thought that she had collapsed coursed through his mind and went into the room.

Again it was empty.

He was relieved she wasn't passed out on the floor.

If she wasn't in any of those places, she would most likely be in the kitchen so grabbing his robe he headed straight there taking a peek in the living room where she wasn't present either. As he approached the kitchen, he half expected to see her looking out the window holding a steaming cup of coffee contemplating something.

When he walked in, the kitchen was empty and he began to get rather frightened and he was about the pace frantically back and forth when he spied an empty glass on the table in the family room.

He walked towards the couch and found Kirsten curled up on the couch clutching a blanket. Looking down at her he gently placed his hand on her hair and gently stroked her cheek with the back of his finger. He didn't want to disturb her so he quickly fixed the blanket over her tiny body.

Admiring her beauty her left her to pick up the newspaper that had been dumped on the doorstep.

The headline read: Newport Shooting: Newport Princess Injured.

"Dammit," Sandy whispered as he finished reading the bold words.

* * *

Meanwhile in a town nearby, a mean was reading the exact same article on the Newport shooting sipping coffee. He read . . . _'Jeremy Green, shot Newport Group employee and daughter of Caleb Nichol, millionaire heiress Kirsten Cohen on May Ninth. Kirsten Cohen, wife of lawyer Sandy Cohen, was shot-_

'Wait' he thought as he retraced the words typed on the page.

'_Wife of Sandy Cohen'_

Sandy Cohen.

'That wouldn't be Sanford Cohen?"

What if it was him?

"So that's where he lives now?" he said aloud.

Closing the newspaper he remembered the town where Sandy Cohen lived – Newport and he set about finding him. If this escaped convict could, he should have no problem. Grabbing his jacket, wallet and other essential items such as clothes, he piled them into a duffel bag haphazardly. He gathered his keys and left his house and climbed into his car.

Thinking about seeing Cohen after all these years might not be the best thing considering his wife had just been shot, He looked at the picture that accompanied the article and looked at the handsome man holding onto his beautiful wife.

Sandy Cohen will be far from happy to see him.

Nevertheless he drove on.

Drove to Newport.

A blast from Sandy Cohen's past.

Or rather Sanford Cohen.

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**Ok, who is this guy coming to see Sandy? Give me your thoughts on who he is and everything will be revealed in the next chapter which will be up next Friday night, hopefully. Reviews as always are more than welcome.**


	6. Sometimes Someone Comes Back

**K, here we are again, new chapter and thanks again to everyone who has reviewed. Love yas all.**

**Disclaimer – I only own David! Not any OC character.

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Sandy opened the newspaper and read the article concerning his wife while sitting down on the chair beside the couch. Reading paragraph after paragraph, detail after detail he became quickly absorbed in what the reporter had to say in the account of the event. Sandy wouldn't have been surprised if the article had said that he held Kirsten still while Jeremy shot her. The reporter mentioned Jeremy Green and how he was a past client of Sandy Cohen and who was sent to prison by said lawyer. But then it went into other details that Sandy was not aware of; Green had recently escaped prison after murdering a guard and stealing their uniform to get past security. Then he acquired a gun under the I.D of the dead officer.

Sandy and Kirsten have never kept a gun.

Never.

Never in Newport or in Berkeley.

They believed that a gun could do more damage than it could solve.

And they never wanted Seth to find it and Seth being quite the detective would easily find it and hurt himself.

As time passed and he neared the end the article, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kirsten shift in her sleep. Then she began to moan in her sleep. Finishing the sentence he was at, Sandy leaned forward and set the paper on the coffee table before crouching down in front of her as her eyes danced under her eyelids.

Breathing in deeply and exhaling peacefully like she always did before waking, her eyes opened as she breathed out. She was welcomed to the morning by the face she loved to wake up to every morning, every time she fell asleep in his arms and the face she woke up to every time they made love.

"Hey," she whispered.

"Hey," he repeated placing his finger on the tip of her nose.

"That's probably how my nose is like a button as you and Seth like to call it; because you do that so often," Kirsten said snuggling into the blanket.

"I don't think it's that."

"Oh?"

"Yeh . . . I think it's this," he whispered leaning forward kissing her nose.

"Yeh, that did it," she laughed.

"See, lawyers are right . . . well this one is," Sandy said before kissing her on the lips.

As Sandy kissed her, something went off in her and her kisses became fiercer and she knew Sandy could never say "No" to her kisses. Responding and equalling her kisses, he manoeuvred himself onto the couch and Kirsten drew him on top of her wrapping her arms around his neck and then continued the onslaught of his lips.

Their lips became wielded together as Sandy's hand slipped under the blanket and went to her side and found its way under her shirt. Somewhere in her mind Kirsten could feel Jeremy's hand there but she knew it was Sandy on her lips and it was his masterful fingers tracing outlines over her dainty skin. Kirsten knew he would never hurt her no matter what, and she pushed the thought away as her tongue was massaged by Sandy's.

Sandy gently stroked her delicate skin as he continued to meet the intensity and pure desperation of her kisses. '_God, how I love her_,' he thought as her fingers entwined themselves in his hair, '_God, how close I can to losing her_,' he thought again for the trillionth time since the doctor told him she was going to be fine.

"Mornings are our time again," Sandy breathed between kisses.

"Yeh but the boys could come in at any moment."

"Oh I hate it when the boys come in . . . they make me stop kissing you."

"No Seth, makes us stop kissing . . . Ryan wouldn't do that."

"True, so I'm gonna kiss you again."

"You are are you?" she asked before she seized his lips quickly.

"Well apparently you are going to kiss me," he laughed.

Before more conversation could interrupt their moment together they returned to their fevered kisses but immediately stopped when they heard Seth making his way down the stairs.

Sandy quickly came off Kirsten and sat on the couch turning the newspaper towards him. But he would've loved to have stayed on top of Kirsten to see the expression on his son's face when he saw them.

'_Why are we always interrupted_,' they both thought simultaneously.

"Morning," Seth yawned.

"Hey," Sandy replied a little too guiltily.

"Morning," Kirsten replied sitting up beside Sandy.

"You sleep ok mom?"

"Yeh, I guess you could say that. I woke up last night and I couldn't get back to sleep so I came down here and watched some TV-"

"Finding Nemo . . . The Kirsten sleeping in front of movies strikes again."

"Hey, it was like five am," she argued, "so you were the one who put the blanket on me."

"Yeh, I came down last night or this morning, saw the TV still on and saw you curled up on the couch there, so-"

"Thanks."

Sitting down, Seth noticed the newspaper and the featured picture of his parents and twisted it towards him and quickly browsed over the bold words that dominated the page.

"Hey mom, you're famous. How did the press get a hold of this? I mean, who would know; Marissa and Summer wouldn't tell anyone."

"And my dad wouldn't want this circulating either."

"Well the doctors wouldn't – doctor/patient confidentiality so I'm betting it was most likely Jeremy."

"Yeh me too."

"Who?" Seth asked looking up from the paper.

"The guy who shot your mother."

"Oh."

Kirsten bowed her head as Sandy explained 'Jeremy' to Seth.

'_Shot your mother'_

Shot.

Attempted murder.

Botched assassination.

Seth lifted the newspaper and sat back in the chair that Sandy sat in moments before he clambered onto his wife. He read the same words as Sandy and sometimes he had to read over some sentences more than twice before he could accept the information. The article answered some questions because his parents weren't offering the answers but then again he was too scared to ask those 'million dollar' questions. This way he got the answers without pain stacking horrible moments rambling before he actually got to the question. But on the other hand, the article presented new questions and very little answers.

"I think I'm gonna go get dressed," Kirsten announced as she untangled herself from beneath the blanket.

Standing up she pulled the blanket but Sandy was still sitting on top of it, "Sandy, could you move a little so I can get the blanket," she laughed tugging at the material.

Sandy felt her delicately tug at the material under his body but he refused to move so he decided to grab the blanket she was tugging at and pull her down to him for a kiss to which Seth simply raised the newspaper over eye level so he would not be subjected to his parents' displays of affection. Kirsten giggled like a teenager as Sandy refused to relinquish his hold on the material and planted butterfly kisses on her lips and cheek.

"Ok, I'm gonna go," she said yanking the blanket from under Sandy after giving another kiss.

"Do you want some breakfast?"

"I'd love some thanks. I'll be back soon."

With that Kirsten walked down the hall to their bedroom where she took a quick shower and changed.

"Mom seems pretty ok," Seth commented setting the newspaper down after she left.

"Yeh she seems to be recovery nicely . . . what about you? You ok?"

"Me? Uh I'm good I guess . . . as long as she's happy, I will be cuz I know she's ok. I don't wanna hurt her again considering everything, I mean she nearly died."

"I know and you won't, don't worry. She loves you . . . you know, she needs you, I know you may not wanna hear this but you are her baby boy and you have been growing up so fast lately, and she doesn't wanna lose you."

"And I guess my little trip to Portland didn't help her either . . . I don't wanna lose her either. I'd be a wreck."

"I've you're a wreck if you lose her, imagine what kinda state I'd be in if I lose her."

"Well we don't have to worry about that now," Seth said.

"Thank God," he breathed, "So do you wanna help me make your mom's breakfast or get your own."

"I can do both," Seth answered standing up and walking to the kitchen.

* * *

Kirsten gently brushed her pristine blonde locks which settled against her shoulder blades as it fell softly to her skin.

Looking at herself in the mirror she looked down to set the brush down but when she looked up she saw Jeremy reflected in the mirror. Instinctively she whirled around but there was an empty space where he stood half a second before. Looking back to the mirror he was closer to her and his hand roughly cupped her cheek in the mirror and she could feel his fingers embed themselves in her skin and felt the moist disgusting tongue that licked her face before he grabbed her breast in her blouse in front of her husband.

In the mirror, she could see through him to the wall behind him and she clenched her eyes to stop herself from looking at his eyes as he violated her.

When she suddenly opened her eyes as his comments built up and up until she could take no more, he was no longer there. She breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed her head onto her arms on the table and cried.

Sandy was doing everything he could to help her heal emotionally but it wasn't enough. She could still hear Jeremy and feel him. Kirsten wanted more than nothing to rid herself of his memory by merely crying away what he did to her, but she had shed innumerable tears because of him and his psychological taunting was not calming.

Wiping the tears of her cheeks, she ran her fingers through her hair and wiped her hands dry on her jeans. Standing up she walked straight out of the bathroom and to the kitchen where Seth, Sandy and Ryan had laid out breakfast for themselves and her.

* * *

After the boys had left for school, Sandy came into the bedroom to see Kirsten sitting on the bed looking through some photographs she kept in her dresser drawer.

Peering over her shoulder, he saw her looking at pictures of the family with Ryan over the past two years. Some from the beach, Chrismukkah, his birthday, everyone's birthdays and Kirsten and Sandy's wedding anniversary. She flicked through them and paused at one of herself and Ryan from Caleb and Julie's wedding. Ryan was in his groomsman tuxedo and Kirsten was in her scarlet red strapless dress with her waving in the slight breeze. Kirsten's arm was around Ryan's shoulder and his was around her back and for the first time she was aware of, he looked comfortable with her touching him.

Sandy gently kissed her neck to tell her that he was there looking at the pictures with her.

Kirsten moved her head into his featherlike kisses and closed her eyes slowly.

Then she sighed.

"You ok?"

"Yeh I'm fine, it's just that . . . it's just that since Ryan came home from Chino I haven't spent much time with him."

"Well, he's back with Marissa and he's been busy with school."

"Yeh but the only time that I can remember talking to him, I mean an actual conversation was when we were preparing the dinner for my dad, Lindsay, him and me. That was it . . . I really gotta spend more time with him . . . I'm so concerned with not losing Seth, I realised that I didn't wanna lose Ryan too . . . I'm gonna be a wreck when they go away to college," she laughed at her image of when her sons go to college.

"We'll both be honey," he replied kissing her temple.

"There's something to look forward to."

"Well then let's take your mind off it hmm? Maybe a DVD, we could break into Seth's stash," he suggested taking her hand.

"Sounds great, but you know what I would just love to watch?"

"Freaky Friday?"

"Yep."

"See, I'm psychic."

"I never knew lawyers were psychic."

"Well this one is," he stated kissing her on the lips.

"No doubt in that," she whispered, "You go set the DVD up and I'll be down in a minute, I just want to put these away."

"Ok, love you."

"Love you too, no get," she ordered playfully swiping him on the ass.

Sandy quickly jogged out of the room and to the family room while Kirsten carefully placed the photographs away and promised herself and the picture of her family; Sandy, Seth and Ryan and herself that she would spend time with Ryan.

After making the promise she made her way to the family room but at the foyer the doorbell rang and she called to Sandy, "I'll get it," and changed direction to the door.

As she approached the door, she prayed it wasn't her father wanting to ask her about the newspaper article or one of the Newpsies wanting to ask her if she was ok and wanting the gossip on the subject.

It wasn't either.

It was a stranger to her.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Mrs. Cohen?"

"Yes, can I help you?"

"I know this may be a rather strange question but does Sandy Cohen live here?"

Sceptical at the stranger's question Kirsten hesitantly answered, "Yes, does he know you?"

"I'm an old acquaintance of your husbands."

When she heard the phrase 'old acquaintance', she immediately tensed because for all she knew that could mean an ex-client who wanted revenge just like Jeremy.

"Sandy!" she called down the hall,

A few seconds later he came up behind her at the door, "Yeh honey?" he began.

When Sandy saw the aged man at the door he continued, "Hello, may I help you?"

"Are you Sandy Cohen? Sanford Cohen?"

"Yes, and you are?"

"I'm David."

"I see."

"You don't know who I am do you?"

"I'm afraid not," Sandy replied moving Kirsten behind him because Jeremy said those exact words before pulling a gun on her.

"I'm David."

"Yes, you've said that."

"No, David . . . David Cohen."

Sandy simply looked at the man and held Kirsten's hand firmly but gently.

"I'm your father."

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**Whoa! Bet you never expected that! I have ideas of where I wanna go with this but there will be a great ending which you will all enjoy. Hope you enjoyed it, and reviews are like always, more than welcome. Btw, Rebecca does not exist here!**


	7. Sometimes Love is All You Need

**Ok, it seems that I'm having problems with the path that this fic is taking; it seems that I'm great at coming up with ideas but apparently I suck at seeing them through to the end lol. Well any who, here's the new chapter. I apologise for it because I haven't had time to think about fics lately.**

**Disclaimer – don't own any OC character except for David

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"I don't know who you are but that is not funny," Sandy said sternly between clenched teeth.

"I know, it's not . . . but you must trust me."

"Trusting strangers from the past is something that my family are not really doing lately after someone broke in here and nearly killed my wife in front of me!"

Kirsten was still shielded by Sandy and she was peering out over his shoulder so she could see what was happening and she held Sandy's hand firmly in hers offering support.

'_Why is he so protective of me?_' she thought but she knew the answer.

"I understand that but I can prove it, I can prove I'm your father."

"Well I am not gonna subject myself to a DNA to a stranger who claims to be my father."

"Sandy . . . you grew up in the Bronx," he said in a vain attempt.

"You coulda read that anywhere, it's a well known fact around here," Sandy retorted.

"What about Michael? Starbuck? You still talk to her?"

Hearing his baby sister's nickname, Sandy felt Kirsten increase her grip on his hand informing him that she was there supporting him and not about to leave.

How many times have they communicated their support by a simple squeeze of the hand?

Too many times to count over the near twenty years they have known each other. It was their secret strength and they drew strength for it. Their spirits were one, and their energies were pooled together as one and what energy was theirs was the others too.

Seeing Sandy's silence as a breakthrough David continued harassing Sandy by recalling the few years that he had spent with his family before leaving them.

"When you were five you told me you wanted to help people so you went to your friend Sully asking if you could help him and when Starbuck fell off her bike you wanted to sue the sidewalk."

Turning his head ever so slightly back towards Kirsten he knew exactly what he wanted to say.

"I don't know who you are but I don't have a father . . . not for a long time now and I would appreciate it if you would please leave and to leave me, my wife and my family alone. Good day."

With that Sandy quietly and solemnly closed the front door and as normally as he could walked away leaving Kirsten speechless at the door. Kirsten looked at the silhouette of the man slowly disappear and sadly watched her husband walk back to the family room. Concerned after what had transpired, she followed his footsteps and stopped watching him opening the DVD case as he busied himself.

"You ok?" she asked leaning against the wall.

"Never better honey, you gonna sit down to watch the movie, cuz I'm nearly finished setting up, I already picked the lock on the DVD safe of Seth's . . . I'm just kidding, he doesn't have Freaky Friday in his collection. Or you could get something to eat or drink."

Kirsten, knowing Sandy as well as she did, knew that his avoidance of the subject was code for '_I don't wanna talk about it_'.

"Um yeh I'm gonna get some water or do you want some popcorn?"

"I don't mind honey whatever," he replied setting the disc in the drive.

Kirsten peeled herself off the wall and shuffled to the kitchen holding her arms crossed under her chest and looking at the tiles as she walked. Inside Sandy was raging that his father or the person who claimed to be his father had turned up out of the blue for no reason after all these years and just expected him to greet him with open arms.

Sandy couldn't just push the heartbreak away and seal the hole in his heart his father's abandonment created when he ditched them.

In the kitchen, Kirsten grabbed a glass out of the cupboard and filled it with cold water from the tap and took a quick sip. Then she took out a cereal box and poured some flakes into a bowl and quickly crunched on a nut covered cornflake. She folded the flaps over and placed it back where she found it and took her snack and drink into the family room where she placed them silently onto the coffee table.

Sandy was already sitting on the couch holding the remote watching the introduction to the selection menu of the movie when Kirsten came in. When his wife sat down beside him, he opened his arm inviting her in and Kirsten instantly snuggled up to him wrapping her arm around his back, settled her head on his shoulder and Sandy reached for her legs and swung them over his lap. Delicately he ran his hand up and down her sculpted thigh. He had longed to caress it.

"Ready?"

Kirsten nodded her head against him and Sandy pointed the remote at the television ordering it to play and the opening credits to Freaky Friday began.

"Jamie Lee Curtis is awesome in this," Kirsten commented.

"Yeh she is, we so couldn't act like Seth."

"God could you imagine, me and Seth trading bodies."

"Honey, Seth would be scared for life if he was in your body . . . I mean I would always be kissing you or touching you and he would desperately try to get out of it," Sandy said before kissing her silky hair.

Then the movie began.

This was probably one of only movies that Kirsten didn't fall asleep during.

When Anna was strumming her guitar and rocking out Kirsten was able to say exactly what chord and note she is playing.

Sandy was content with having Kirsten in his arms and having her hold him and having her legs over his like when they were younger watching movies in his apartment in Berkeley but most of the time they got distracted between scenes because of their incessant need to kiss. More often than not, the intention to watch a movie was code for 'making love' but it wasn't code for love making today because of Kirsten's stitches and he would never forgive himself if he hurt her.

When the movie was over Kirsten lay back against the cushions that sat along the side of the couch and stretched out exposing her stomach which Sandy couldn't resist but to poke. Recoiling at his poke Kirsten scrunched forward giggling and Sandy quickly embraced her pulling her forward towards him. Responding to his embrace Kirsten moved forward and instead of going to hug him like she wanted to, she awkwardly but swiftly placed her legs either side of his and straddled him looping his neck with her toned arms.

Sandy ran his hands up and down her thighs and up over her hips and around her waist to her back and they met each other half way for a passion filled kiss. His hands automatically caressed her back roaming up and down, left and right, diagonally and in circular movements. One hand had roamed down to the small of her back and caught the edge of her shirt and curiously made its way inside and stroked the warm and soft flesh that the shirt kept hidden from the world.

Kirsten's fingers ran over and through his hair fuelling her passion. As their lips fused together, Kirsten hands moved to cup to Sandy's face and gently her thumb moved over his freshly shaven skin. Then she broke the kiss and hugged him pressing her body against his chest. As she held onto him she moved back slightly and playfully kissed the side of his face and placed the lobe of his ear between her teeth teasingly tugged it and ran her elegant fingers through his hair and down the neck of his shirt.

Sandy was reciprocating her touches by circling his hand over the flesh of her back as the other hand continued to stroke her thigh.

"We should watch Freaky Friday more often," Sandy said dryly and seductively.

"Hm-mm," she moaned as his hand caressed her side.

Then as he moved his hand further up her back beyond her bra clasp his fingers ran over the stitches and he paused instantly yet hesitantly. When Kirsten felt his touch on her stitches that she was scheduled to get taken out in two weeks, she couldn't exactly remember because she had something else on her mind; making out with her gorgeous husband, but she knew what Sandy was thinking and she moved back and sat on his lap looking into his eyes.

"We can't, I'm sorry honey . . . I don't wanna hurt you."

"I know baby, its ok," she smiled kissing him lightly.

Sandy wielded his hands on her hips as she hugged him and they remained like that for several minutes simply being content being with each other and having each other to hold. They were disappointed that they couldn't make love but they knew it was only a matter of time before they could.

"You ok?" she whispered.

"Yeh I'm fine."

"Sandy?"

"I dunno honey; I mean what right does he have coming into my life after all this time?"

"You're asking all the same questions Lindsay did I'm sure."

"Yeh, but he knew where we were, he knew the address, the phone number and everything else about it and yet he didn't even try to get into contact with us. He comes here and uses Sarah's nickname as if the thirty odd years he's been gone hadn't happened. It's selfish and why now of all times?" Sandy asked.

"I wish I knew the answers Sandy I really do," she replied sitting beside him, "but to be honest, you know where to find those answers and like it or not, it's the only way."

"I know."

"Well whatever you decide, I'll be here for you."

"You always are."

"Of course I am what d'ya think these rings mean?" she asked sarcastically holding her left hand up indicating the three silver rings that had made their home there.

"I thought they meant you were young, impressionable and drunk," Sandy replied kissing the back of her hand.

"Well . . . that's what I like to tell people."

"When I piss you off."

"Yeh."

"Yeh," he repeated before putting his arm around her neck and letting her snuggle quietly against him again.

* * *

Five or so minutes later Sandy moved and stroked her arm.

"Hey baby, I need to go to my office for a little while, you gonna be ok while I'm gone?"

"Yeh, of course I'll be fine, you know you don't need to baby-sit me."

"Well look what baby-sitting you had us half way to doing," he chuckled standing up.

"Good point," she smiled.

"So you're gonna be ok?"

"Yep, I'll be fine for twenty minutes."

"That's my girl," he coddled picking up a nearby jacket and walking down the hall with Kirsten following him, "And if he returns-"

"Don't answer the door."

"I love you," Sandy whispered kissing her on the cheek.

"Love you too."

Content that his precious princess wife would be safe without his presence he turned and walked out the door tempted to lock it behind him but he knew that security around the community had been enhanced recently and that the guards at the gates were now working hard to protect their family from further attacks. For the time being anyway.

Once Sandy was away, Kirsten turned and went back into the family room and took the empty bowl and glass to the kitchen and set them in the sink. Then she turned and leaned against the sink thinking while twiddling her rings like she had so many times before.

Making up her mind she left the kitchen and made her way across the house to her and Sandy's bedroom which lay opposite the pool house on the other side of the pool.

Once there she went into the closet and went to the very back and looked behind the densest area for what she was looking for. She had to slide several items of clothing along the rails so she could gain access to it and once she did she cautiously brought it out into the open of the bedroom.

The smooth black material casing was something she had not seen in years and she was rather excited about it. Pulling the zip open and folded the casing open onto the carpeted floor she stared at the masterful craftsmanship of the black Gibson guitar and how the light reflected off the finished paint.

Carefully, she lifted the guitar out of its hiding place and strapped it around her shoulder and connected it to the portable amplifier that was also housed in the case and turned the volume on. Taking the pic between her elegant fingers she flicked it against the string and absorbed the sound that emanated from the guitar and revelled in it.

Then she flicked it again.

And again.

And again.

And then she developed into playing an actual song that she had composed when she played the last time and her fingers on the chords and on the strings moved together to create the tune that she penned herself. It has been years since she strummed her guitar and she had missed it desperately.

Time quickly flew by and she began to play the entire song that the band 'Pink Slip' played in Freaky Friday and turned the volume on the amplifier up and began to play.

When Sandy came into the house he heard a guitar playing and recognised it from Freaky Friday and instinctively went to the family room thinking Kirsten was watching that scene again with the volume turned up because the house was empty but he didn't find her in front of the television on the couch and the television was switched off. So he began to look around the house and when he came to the living room he heard it sound coming from the bedroom and so made his way there.

As he approached the bedroom the music got louder and louder and he peered into the room and saw Kirsten looking intently at a guitar in her hands and her hands looking like blurs as she re-enacted Anna's solo from Freaky Friday. She was playing the solo note for note and even acting like Anna or rather Lindsay Lohan's character.

He didn't want to disturb her and stood back a tiny back and continued to watch her 'rock out' as they used to say and how their boys would say.

'_Wait till they see this'_ he thought.

Then before he knew it, the music had stopped and she ran her hand through her hair.

"Wow!" he said from the door.

Kirsten instantly looked towards the door afraid that it was someone like Jeremy but she actually knew it was Sandy but startled that he had actually seen her.

"Hey," she said rather embarrassed.

"Hey, baby that was amazing. I didn't know you played guitar. I didn't know you played that well," he complimented while moving forward.

"Thank you," Kirsten replied blushing as she took off the guitar and placed it back in its casing and carried it into the closet quickly putting it back for another few years.

"What else can you play?"

"Anything . . . Metallica, Bon Jovi, Maroon 5 . . . anyone who plays guitar."

"Wow, I'm so amazed honey . . . its true what they say; you learn a new thing everyday."

Kirsten smiled.

"How long have you been playing guitar?"

"Not long, a few years . . . I don't really know to be honest."

"Well, you as the boys would say rock," Sandy said taking her in his arms again and wrapping his arms around her svelte waist.

"Really? Wow," she replied sarcastically.

"You know, you are becoming too much like me and Seth," he commented before kissing her.

"I know, it's tragic isn't it?"

"Totally."

He stole another kiss.

And another.

And another.

And they just kept their lips together as they continued to kiss and embrace each other as their passion increased again. Slowly but surely they backed themselves simultaneously towards the small couch at the end of the bed and sat down together and her legs automatically swung themselves over his legs as their hands found each other yet again.

Yet again, Sandy's hand found his way to the stitches that reminded him of the ordeal and he was again too afraid to progress any further out of fear of hurting her. Then he stopped kissing her.

Kirsten placed her hands either side of his face and looked into his deep blue eyes.

"The boys are still at school, they won't be home because lunch has passed."

"I know but-"

Longing into his eyes again, she kissed him passionately but quickly and then pulled away.

"You won't hurt me."

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**Sorry I haven't really clarified much but that's the best I could do. I hope you liked it. There may be an update next weekend because I'll have had my history exam finished by then so, yeh there should be.**


	8. Sometimes The Answer Is 'Yes'

**Some people will be pleasantly surprised at the end of this chapter, and others may be a bit "omg" or something like that in another part so bear with it cuz I love you all for sticking with it and continually reviewing. This chapter is for my sisters Emzzie and Emz, love you guys loads.

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Slowly Kirsten opened her eyes and saw her husband looking lovingly back at her as she awoke from their lover's sleep. Their hands were entwined together under the sheets and Sandy seductively brought her closer so he could kiss her.

"See," she began, "you didn't hurt me."

Sandy simply curled the sides of his mouth up into a smile as he gently ran his hand over her hair and down to her cheek where he stroked her angelic skin.

"What did I ever do to deserve you?"

"You always ask that question," she smiled moving her head to his chest.

Laying back and letting Kirsten rest on him, he honestly had no idea what he did to be allowed to call Kirsten his wife.

"I always ask that question because I am so lucky to be able to love you and be married to you. I just feel like that at any moment I might wake up and not have you in my arms."

Smiling slyly Kirsten quickly pinched him to which he recoiled chuckling.

"Did you wake up?

"No," he laughed.

"Am I gone?"

"No."

"Good, because that'll never happen, I'm not going anywhere . . . I'm too comfy laying here on my big teddy bear," she replied.

"And I have my beautiful wife."

"Yeh you do," she added sitting up and laying on top of Sandy bringing their noses so close that they grazed each other. Sandy once again brought his hands once again to her naked body and revelled in the softness of her porcelain skin.

Kirsten left butterfly kisses echoing over her husbands face and nose. When she kissed his nose, he began to laugh lightly.

"What?" she asked trying to keep a straight face as his laughter infected her.

"You trying to turn my nose into a button?"

Screwing up her lips and looking around innocently she replied, "Hmmm . . . maybe!" and quickly kissed his nose once again before he could move.

"Hey," he cried pulling her against him seizing her lips.

Again their lips fused together and the only time they came apart was to allow them to breathe. But the mere split second their lips parted it was too much for them to bear and they desperately sought each other.

"I wish we didn't have to get up. I wish we could just stay like this," she whispered placing her head on his chest and circling her finger lazily over his skin. She was so happy that his skin was not what that bullet penetrated. Sandy's skin was too precious, soft, delicate and masculine to her and she just loved to touch it. She loved that they were able to spend the day together.

"I know honey, me either."

He gently rubbed her back and for the third time that day he felt the fifteen stitches that dominated her body. Guilt immediately washed over him for the umpteenth since she begged him to make the pain go away as she bled in his arms.

"Sandy? You ok?" Kirsten asked not moving sensing something was on Sandy's mind.

"Yeh honey I'm fine."

"Sandy I know you're not," she replied, "Anytime you've put your hands on my back today you've always stopped over the stitches. Come on baby, tell me what's wrong."

Sandy remained silent and stared into the depths of her crystalline irises as she looked at him.

"It's just . . ." he began.

"What? What is it?"

Again Sandy paused to piece his words together.

Then he began.

"You wanna know why I stop?" he whispered.

She nodded.

"Ok . . . it's just every time I feel those stitches, I remember how close I came to losing you," he began tucking her hair behind her ear, "and I don't wanna think about that . . . Every time my fingers touch the gunshot would I think that that was meant for me, not you. I caused you to nearly die and be in pain. You would be fine if it weren't for me."

"You know I love you more than anything-"

"I know you do baby and I would gladly die for you but . . . I'm scared that another ex-client or person I sent to prison would come back and . . . and-"

"Hurt me."

"Just to punish me . . . I may have lost their case but I will not lose you, I just can't. I'm not strong enough."

Tears had come to Kirsten's eyes and wrote their emotions down her cheeks. Sandy affectionately thumbed away her tears away and placed his hand on her cheek.

Kirsten closed her eyes and placed her hand over his.

"Sandy, I know you feel that way and I love you so much for that but I wanna tell you something ok?"

She paused and came off Sandy and sat up beside him holding the quilt against her, "You see these stitches?" she asked stretching her arm around her back indicating her scar, "these say how much I love you. Each stitch is like a string of a harp, a violin or even a guitar and they represent my heart."

"Because it got punctured?"

"No . . . because every time you look at me or touch me, it's as if you're playing my heart strings and creating the perfect melody and these stitches are the physical representation of that . . . you just know me and I will gladly get more stitches even if the bullet or whatever has your name engraved on it because I told my mom that I would protect you . . . Don't worry about me because I would never leave you without a fight . . .hopefully I won't have to jump in front of any more bullets.

"I've pissed of a lotta people."

"Well yeh but you don't see me or my dad hunting you down but you apologise so well . . . to me."

"I love you."

"I love you too, and these stitches are totally worth it and don't try to apologise for them."

They both brought their lips together again slowly.

Then Kirsten looked at the clock on Sandy's side of the bed and read the time on 14:40.

"The boys'll be home soon," she sighed as she picked her clothes off the floor at the side of the bed, "as much as I hate to say this, we need to get dressed."

Then she chucked his t-shirt at him playfully before wrapping her robe around her and walking through to the bathroom. There, she pushed the door almost closed so it was ajar.

Sandy quickly pulled his clothes on and checked to see if the bathroom door was still closed over. Once satisfied that Kirsten was busying herself, he went to the top drawer of his dresser and dug through the neatly folded clothes there. Pushing his garments aside he found what he was looking for.

Cautiously and listening to the bathroom, he took out the small scarlet velvet box. Slowly he opened it to reveal a platinum diamond ring.

Happy that it was still there, Sandy placed the box back through the tunnel of clothes he created and sealed the drawer before going to the far window of the bedroom looking out as Kirsten came out of the bathroom fully clothed wearing dark jeans and a red tank top.

"Enjoying the view?"

"As a matter of fact I am," he smiled turning to face her.

"Glad to hear it."

"Hey honey, I was thinking about something. How about we do something tonight?"

"Ok, like what?"

"How about we go out tonight, not to dinner because of the newspapers and that."

"Go on."

"Well, we could get dinner early and go for a long walk along the beach for sunset."

"Aw that sounds wonderful. I can't wait."

* * *

"Ok guys your mother and I are going out for a while ok," Sandy announced after dinner.

"Ok," Ryan replied.

"You guys ok on your own?"

"Yes mom, you can leave two seventeen year olds alone in the house for a while," Seth answered sarcastically.

"Don't worry; we're got some DVDs to catch up on."

"Like what?" Kirsten asked.

"Well you know we're just gonna watch X-2 or the Matrices, whatever."

"He means the Matrix trilogy," Ryan translated.

"Caught that," Kirsten nodded as Sandy smiled.

"Ok, well we're off so don't do anything stupid."

"God dad, do you have to give the lecture checklist every time you leave the house?"

"Yes I do," he answered sarcastically.

"Just go already!" Seth groaned.

"Ok we're going," Kirsten replied grabbing a jacket.

Then before they could say another word, Seth had literally pushed them out the door and closed the door.

Giving up, Sandy and Kirsten began to walk away hand in hand down to the beach.

But unbeknownst to them, a shadow in the bushes across the street saw Seth and Ryan push them out of the house and saw them walk away without a care in the world. When the dark figure was satisfied that they had left, continued to lurk until the right moment to pounce.

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"Come on dude what the hell!" Seth cried.

"What?" Ryan laughed taking advantage of Seth's moment of weakness.

"Hey, that is unfair," he cried again pushing the buttons of the controller even harder, "Right, thank you Ryan. Thank you for chopping my head off and sending it hurtling across Middle Earth! You're supposed to be fighting the ugly dudes and not attempting to kill me at the same time!"

"Sorry man, I didn't know you were there," Ryan replied feigning innocence.

"You did that on purpose!"

"No I didn't!"

"Re-match?"

"Re-match," Ryan nodded.

But before the rematch could commence the door bell rang.

"I'll get it, it's probably Summer or Marissa," Seth said standing up and setting his controller down.

Half way down the corridor Seth shouted, "Pause the game and no cheating!" and then made his way to the door.

Opening it he was greeted by a man he had never seen before.

"Hi, may I help you?"

"Is this the Cohen residence?" the man asked.

"Yeh it is."

"Is Sandy or . . . . Kirsten here?" he asked remembering her name from the article.

"No they aren't, but could I take a message for when they get back?"

"No, no that's alright; I'll call back some other time, goodnight."

"Night."

But before Seth could close the door, the man turned back around.

"Oh but before I go, could you give your father this?" the man enquired handing Seth a large brown envelope.

"Uh yeh sure, I can give that to him," Seth replied taking it.

"Thank you, good night."

"Yeh night.

And with that Seth closed the door and returned to the family room. Setting the envelope on the coffee table, he re-took his seat on the couch and clamped the controller between his fingers.

"Who was at the door?" Ryan asked resuming the game.

"Just some dude leaving something off for dad."

"Oh right . . . Seth what are you doing?"

"It's called revenge Ryan! X-2 can wait until I get sweet sweet revenge on Legolas!" Seth answered as he aggressively pushed the buttons even harder.

* * *

Kirsten dreamily walked along the sand with Sandy's arm secure around her waist and she moulded herself to the contours of his side and cuddled up to him.

Then as the sun sank into the ocean, Sandy stopped and turned to face Kirsten and brought her into his arms, and while in the embrace rotated themselves towards the sunset and mutually decided on their position. Kirsten had her head on his chest and in the nape of his neck and his left arm was around her shoulder and his right was along the left side of her waist.

Moving his arm away from her waist, he bent down and picked up a stone and flung it into the ocean.

But when Sandy lowered himself the second time, he didn't come back up but brought out the box he had been looking at earlier out of his pocket and placed it on the golden sand by his foot before taking her left hand is his and balancing himself on one knee.

"Kirsten," he said getting her attention.

Kirsten turned around to see her hand in Sandy's and her husband on one knee.

"Sandy?" she asked confused.

"Kirsten, after everything that has happened I realised that I wanted to do this more than anything. I've been thinking about this for months and I know that this is the right time . . . after talking with you today, my fears have been set aside and I am so in love with you it is unbelievable . . . so Kirsten . . . would you make me the happiest man in the world again," picking up the box, he opened it to let the sunset wash over the diamond, "will you marry me again?"

Just like when he proposed the first time, Kirsten fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him with all the passion that was in her body as the waves of the ocean continued to settle on the sand nearby and the sun basked Sandy and Kirsten as it slowly sank.

"So? Shall I take that as a yes?" he asked breathless re-enacting when he originally proposed.

Smiling, she kissed him again and brought her nose a millimetre away from his and whispered, "Yes . . . I will."

Simultaneously they brought their bodies together in an embrace.

"I love you."

"I love you, "Sandy repeated.

"I can't believe you bought another ring," she laughed coming out of their embrace but keeping her arms around his neck.

"Well, you've been due for an upgrade anyway."

"So now what? I have 2 engagement rings. Did you get another set?"

"Yeh, cuz I wanted to propose again and give you a brand new set that my princess deserves."

"Yeh so like I said, what now? I have 2 engagement rings and now 2 wedding rings."

"I didn't think that far ahead," Sandy smiled.

"Well, let's try something."

"Ok, well, maybe we could take these off and put the ring on?" Sandy suggested.

"Ok."

Slowly, Kirsten took the three rings of her finger and handed two of them to Sandy but placed her mother's wedding band on her right hand, before Sandy gently ran the new ring onto her left ring where the other rings had just vacated. Then he placed the other rings in the small scarlet velvet box and placed it safely in his pocket.

The shades of the warm sky flooded over the platinum colouring of the band and rainbows refracted off the small diamond.

"Oh before we get into anything I must warn you I'm already married."

"Well," he sighed, "I think he'll understand."

"I'm sure he will . . . I mean he's a great guy. He sings and surfs."

Sandy simply rubbed her back again.

"I love you Kirsten."

"I love you more."

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**So….what do you think? I know some people who will be happy with this. Please please please review as I have 3 exams this week which I suck at so please give me an excuse to revise or something. Cheer me up please lol.**


	9. However Dark The Night 1

**Hey hey what's happening everybody? Sorry I haven't been updating recently but I have finished all my exams and I was away on holidays around the Med but while there I was writing and I have a new fic on the way but I'm updating this one.**

**Disclaimer – you know it by now; don't own any OC character except David.

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Since their unexpected visitor two hours ago, Seth and Ryan had progressed from PS2 game of ninjas and bows man and orks to their original plan of watching DVDs while on the couch with they feet resting on the coffee table and their backs sunken into the feather cushions of the couch.

"So," Ryan breathed, "you happy with your revenge?"

"Yes Ryan I am," he replied smiling, "seeing that sword go through your character's chest and that Ork look-alike disembowelling you was sweet"

"O-k . . . let's just watch the movie."

"Yep, come on Bridget Moynahan nude in the shower."

"You know you do see Will Smith first?"

"Dude, why take that image of Bridget away from me huh?"

"Cuz you have a girlfriend and she would kill you for looking at another woman," Ryan answered while keeping his eyes on the screen.

"Good point but what Summer doesn't know won't hurt me."

As the science fiction and action movie 'I, Robot' continued to get under way the envelope Seth was asked to delivery to Sandy was still laying on the coffee table. Neither of the boys wondered what was in it or even wanted to know because their curiosity ended when the pause option was deactivated on the game and they became enthralled in their battle and Seth wanted revenge on losing a life.

Then as the clock continued to tick, the front door opened and over the sound effects on the DVD Seth and Ryan could hear footsteps approach them and a giggle from their mother.

"Hey guys," Kirsten said coming into the family room with Sandy.

"Hey, how was your walk?" Ryan asked looking towards them.

It amazed Kirsten how polite Ryan was even though he had been living with them for almost two years unlike Seth who would have just said, "Hey" and kept his eyes glued to the screen without another word or gesture.

Then Seth looked towards his parents.

"Whoa whoa whoa guys-hands-come on- I'm only two hours after eating- come on break it up," Seth moaned.

Sandy and Kirsten knew that that outburst from their son would be coming if they entered the room holding hands but they wanted to test how long it would take until he actually said something so they simply smiled and looked at each other shaking their heads.

"Sorry son but like I said your mom's a hottie and I got her."

"I am?" she asked shyly.

"Yeh," he replied.

Kirsten smiled bashfully and looped her arms around Sandy's waist and he quickly reciprocated her embrace and pulled her towards him and took her lips in a kiss and both of them simultaneously wondered how long it would be before Seth pretended to vomit. But Seth tried to avoid his parents displays of affection by looking at every possible direction but his senses couldn't block out the sound of their lips parting and meeting again or his mother's giggles between kisses.

Then he had had enough.

"Ok dude pool house now!" Seth demanded standing bolt upright and staring at the floor.

With that he quickly strolled out of the family room and he had to restrain himself from running out the kitchen to the pool house to escape from his parents.

"Night guys," Ryan said before he began to follow Seth, "Oh by the way some guy left that envelope there for you Sandy, Seth answered the door so I couldn't tell you who left it off."

Sandy and Kirsten had watched amazed as Seth shielded his eyes as he passed them on his way out and just stood as Ryan told them.

"Thanks Ryan," Sandy replied.

"Ok, see yas."

As Ryan left the house and jogged up the steps to the pool house Sandy and Kirsten chuckled together thinking about their sons and how one thinks they are too old to be in love and just because they have a teenage child means that they have to suspend any physical contact no matter what it is while the other son was comfortable with and welcomed their public displays of affection as his own biological parents were never like that when he was growing up. One of these days Ryan would turn into Seth if their son had anything to say about it.

"I'm going to get some water ok," Kirsten announced before kissing Sandy on the cheek and walking into the kitchen.

Sandy watched her as she walked and found his eyes on his hips and admired how they swayed when she moved and he couldn't wait to see her in a white wedding gown again for when they renewed their vows.

Then once he couldn't see her anymore he made his way to the envelope and ripped open the seal carefully being cautious not to damage any document or paper that may be in it. Sandy then opened the slip and pulled out the items that were in the package.

The items were apparently face down and the backs of them were white but the surface of the bottom thing felt glossy.

Dropping the envelope onto the couch, he turned his attention back to his hands.

He turned the closest paper over and what he saw struck terror into his heart and made his blood run cold and made his breath quicken with rage.

"Oh god," he whispered.

He looked towards to the kitchen in hope that Kirsten didn't hear him gasp but she didn't say anything nor did she come into the room asking if he was ok so he looked back at the paper.

It was Kirsten.

It was a picture of Kirsten.

His wife.

In his hands Sandy held photographs of his wife which weren't any ordinary photograph that she posed for. No, these were different. They weren't thought through or choreographed; they showed that she had been blatantly spied on, followed and photographed.

The photographs had a date written on the back of them in the back top left hand corner and all of them were placed before Kirsten got shot by Jeremy. The first photograph that he overturned was of Kirsten tucking her hair behind her ear beside her range rover with sun glasses perched on her head. The second was of Kirsten walking into their house with her briefcase in one hand with rolls of plans for developments under the other. The next one was of Kirsten talking on her cell phone while out shopping with Julie with bags from Fashion Island in her hand. The fourth was through her office window at the Newport Group where she was standing opposite her desk with Julie talking beside her while holding a mug which most likely contained coffee to her lips. Another one was of Kirsten and Caleb outside the Newport Group talking to several clients and finally the sixth photograph was of Kirsten lying in her hospital bed after she got shot. On the last photograph there was a piece of paper.

Quickly Sandy overturned the piece of paper and read the writing on it.

'_Come alone. 14 Mermaid Inn_.'

By this point the rage building up inside Sandy was reaching boiling point and once it reached that it would erupt and would continue to do so and will not simmer until he had no reason to be angry. Some person took it upon themselves to follow his wife around Newport and take photographs of her without her own knowledge for god knows what reason,

Then before he knew it he heard Kirsten's footsteps approach him and he haphazardly stuffed the photos back into the envelope after picking it up off the couch just as she rounded the corner.

"Back again," she smiled carrying a glass of water.

"Missed you," he replied as normally as he could kissing her on the cheek but Kirsten detected the strange tone in his voice.

"You ok? Anything important in the envelope?"

"Yeh yeh I fine and uh . . ."

"What?" she asked gently.

"Uh a client was asking me to meet them in the letter they sent in this," he said holding up the envelope.

"Oh ok," she replied understandingly.

"So I'm gonna go see them, I won't be long."

Kirsten nodded.

"I'll just hang out here and Seth left the lock on his DVD collection open so I might find out what Hellboy is about."

"Oh I know what it's about and I'll tell you later tonight ok." Sandy said.

"Ooooo ok then, I'll just watch 'Finding Nemo' again or something funny. Now, go, your client's waiting for you."

"Love you," he said kissing her hair.

"Love you too."

Sandy turned and walked down the hall with the envelope in hand all the while thinking about what he would do when he got to number fourteen. Meanwhile Kirsten watched him make his way towards the door. A part of her was worried about him for his voice was kind of shaken and she was able to detect any irregular tone in his voice after nearly twenty years of marriage. But her eyes pushed that thought aside as she settled on his ass. God, how she loved him and how she worried about him. The fact that she nearly died caused him to be fiercely protective of her and during her recuperation he was running himself ragged even though he didn't have to and now they are going to get married again so they were still head over heels in love.

Sandy grabbed his keys from the table beside the door and went out the door trying to make it look like he was calm and collected to Kirsten but once the door was closed he ran to his car furiously and drove off with the envelope on the passenger seat to the Mermaid Inn. Anger blinded him as he drove and he almost broke several red lights but he was being safe by being under the speed limit and since it was getting dark not that many people in their cars would be out driving.

Then he arrived at the Mermaid Inn and parked his car.

Thinking that he could surprise whoever called him but he had suspicions that it was his so called 'father' and so he headed to the reception of the inn and approached the man on duty.

"Hi, sorry to bother you but a friend of mine who was travelling ahead of me rented a room for us. I think he said he was in number 14, I went up and got no answer so he must be out so I was wondering if you had a key I could use to go in and settle in?"

"Of course, I have an extra key for room 14, here you are sir and have a pleasant stay in Newport Beach," the man said while handing over a key with a ring with '14' engraved on it.

"Thank you, I'm sure I will," Sandy smiled back cheerfully but as he turned round he muttered under breath, "but my friend definitely won't!"

Sandy casually made his way back to his car and retrieved the photographs from the envelope and made his way up the steps to number fourteen but turned his head away from the window as he passed the room and walked on a little further but tip-toed back to fourteen where he slide the key into the door quietly and opened the lock slowly without making the slightest noise.

Once he was sure that David or whoever was on the other side hadn't heard him and come to the door, Sandy burst into the room and threw the photographs into David's chest yelling, "Who the hell do you think you are? Huh? Who are you to do this huh?"

They grappled for several minutes as Sandy continued to press the pictures onto him but David was trying desperately to get Sandy off of him and when he finally did he held out his arm in protest breathing heavily "Sandy!"

"Where they hell do you get off doing this?" he yelled holding up the photographs.

David breathed for a short time before composing himself.

"I see your son delivered my package."

"Yeh he did, but I wanna know why you sent me pictures of my wife after someone spied on her!"

"There is an explanation son!"

"Don't you dare call me that after you just placed these in my house and abandoned us over 30 years ago!" Sandy yelled even louder, "But please give me an explanation as to why you had Kirsten followed.

"To find you," David yelled back matching his son's volume but he quietly repeated, "to find you."

"What the hell does that mean, 'to find me'?"

David bowed his head and looked around him at his dwellings and thought of the words to tell his enraged son who he was meeting for the first time in over thirty years but not under the best of circumstances.

"Those photographs . . . they were taken by Jeremy Green."

"What?" Sandy whispered astonished, "You had him follow my wife, you had him follow Kirsten and then what? You paid him to shoot me?"

"No, I told him just to follow Kirsten and to locate you because I knew that you were on the prosecuting side on his case, once I heard he had escaped I knew he would go for you . . . but I paid him to tell me about you and he developed a fascination with your wife and followed her because I knew she would lead me to you."

"I can't believe this," Sandy said to himself.

"There's more."

"Oh god there's more?"

David took another breath fearing Sandy would kill him once he confessed the next part.

"Once I paid Jeremy I didn't have enough so he left abruptly and I didn't give it a second thought and I guess he went off and went to your house. He once told me that he never had bullets in the gun he had and it was just for scare."

"For scare? The bullet that came out of that barrel and into Kirsten didn't seem to be just for show!" Sandy spat back.

"I know Sandy and I'm sorry!"

"Sorry doesn't take back the nightmares that she has, it doesn't take back the scar that has been left on her back, it doesn't take back the internal damage nor the pain she has breathing . . . don't say you're sorry, not to me and if you ever come near Kirsten or you have any one come near her, I will not be held responsible for what I do!"

Sandy threw the photographs on the carpet of the room and headed for the door. When his hand was on the handle David called his name.

"Sandy wait."

Sandy turned to face him with a look that could kill.

David moved to speak but words wouldn't come and he was left there standing with his hands out from his sides but Sandy just looked at him.

"I'm gonna say this once again . . . stay away from me, my wife and my family. If you hurt them you will be met by the deadliest force and I don't mean me, I'll be the shadow that will suck your life dry but you will be met by Caleb Nichol and he doesn't take prisoners," Sandy spoke with a voice that dripped with venom and David knew not to push him any further, "If I were you, I would leave town and never come back."

And with that Sandy opened the door and walked back to the reception, "Sorry but I got called away on an important message, thanks anyway," he smiled trying to hide the rage he felt from the confession he got from David. Then he went back to his car and drove home.

The darkness that blanketed Newport helped Sandy to forget about it because the darkness hid everything that you don't want others to see and he didn't want to see David or to see the truth behind him ever again. He just wanted to go home to his beautiful wife and hold her in his arms and tell her over and over how much he loved her..

When he got home Kirsten was lying on the couch watching the pelican have Dory and Marlin jump into his mouth to get away from the sea gulls calling 'Mine' every second in their annoying identical voices.

"Hey," Sandy said as he walked into the room.

"Hi," she said sitting in and looking at him, "that wasn't long."

"Told ya I wouldn't be long," he said sitting down beside her.

"What did you do?"

Sandy paused thinking about what to say.

"I give him an ear full."

"Well I'm glad you're home."

"Yeh why?"

"I feel like I'm about to fall asleep like you all claim I do and I wanted my teddy bear," she said changing position as Sandy draped his arm around her shoulders.

"Aww but you're gonna miss the whole dentist disaster with Darla and the wee kid looking through the fish tank to the other side and being scared to death."

"Oh yeh forgot about that."

The two lovers sat and watched the rest of the movie and sang along when Dory went 'Keep swimming, keep swimming' and when it was over Kirsten was still awake and so they decided to go to their bedroom and relax with each other for company and read their respected novels or talked about their past together.

"Oh hey tell me what Hellboy is about?" she asked facing him.

"Well in the words of Seth and Ryan," Sandy began, "hell boy was adopted by a scientist and raised to be a hero but...turns out his destiny is to open the gates of hell so he tries to do good but...he usually ends up destroying everything."

"Sounds like your kinda hero," Kirsten commented.

"That's what I said. Come here."

Sandy opened his arm and let Kirsten snuggle up against him as they lay together. He rested his head on hers and kissed her blonde hair every other second trying to reassure himself that she was still there with him and that no one would hurt her or even try to hurt her ever again but Kirsten howeverwas oblivious tothe deal David made with her would-be assassin and Sandy would not tell her for now anyway.

But again they thought . . . what would tomorrow bring.

Or the future.

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**phew that's the new chapter up. I hope you liked the twist in it. Please let me know what you think and maybe what you would like to see happen. I'll try to incorporate things and now I have ample time to update fics. And btw, I have a new one in the works and I like the way it's shaping up. Thanks for reading, Kazzie.**


	10. Sometimes You Just Gotta Ask

**Hey here is the new chapter and I hope you enjoy. For my sisters Emz and Emzzie, love you both loads! hugs**

**Disclaimer – Don't own any OC character.

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A week later Sandy and Kirsten were in their bedroom trying to get some headway on their vow renewal because Kirsten needed a distraction from sitting around the house doing nothing and Sandy needed one to forget about his father. Kirsten was sitting on the bed with her legs crossed with a pen clamped between her teeth and sheets of paper sitting around her whereas Sandy was between pacing back and forth and sitting at the glass table beside the window. Both of them noted the odd piece of information down as they continued to debate how to make their day perfect.

Kirsten was working on her bridesmaids and who they were going to be while Sandy was working on his groomsmen and figuring out how to get his mother to come considering it was painful enough trying to get her to come to the first one.

"Oh my god," Kirsten grunted in frustration.

"What is it?" Sandy asked looking up.

"This is a nightmare!"

"Gee thanks sweetie."

"No, I mean my bridesmaids!" she clarified.

"I thought you were gonna ask Marissa and Summer to be your bridesmaids?"

"Yeh I am but Julie will want to be my maid of honour but on the other hand Hailey will be hurt if I don't make her my maid of honour and Julie will be pissed if I don't choose her because I was hers and Hailey is my sister and-" Kirsten sighed in frustration as she ran her fingers through her hair and grabbed the blonde locks before releasing.

"I think I might have a suggestion."

"I'm open to anything but before you say anything I don't want two maids of honour because that would be stupid," she replied looking up.

"Well there goes my idea."

Kirsten shot him a 'Not funny but thanks' look.

"I'm kidding," he added, "look Hailey is your sister right?"

"Right."

"And Julie is, as much as it pains me to say this, your step-mother-"

"Thanks for reminding me," Kirsten moaned.

"Well yeh but you can't have your step-mom as your maid of honour cuz let's face it; it isn't right so Julie will simply be mother of the bride-"

"Sandy could you please finish your point before I have to vomit."

"Nearly there sweetie . . . where was I, Julie will be there as a guest and Hailey can be your maid of honour . . . there," he finished.

Kirsten sat and pondered Sandy's logic and it dawned on her that it was right and it would be weird to have your step-mother as your maid of honour and Kirsten was much more comfortable with having Hailey beside her than Julie.

"You're right . . . thanks honey," Kirsten replied as she scribbled something down on the notepad beside her, "and what about you? How are you doing?"

Sandy hesitated to give an answer and he felt Kirsten's eyes on him and he could tell that she was thinking he wasn't doing ok.

"Kinda on the same problem as you are," he confessed.

"Well maybe I can help, what is it?"

"Well," he begin, "since Hailey is gonna be your maid of honour, I was gonna have Seth as my best man."

"Was? What changed your mind?"

"Well do you want Seth to walk Hailey down the aisle?" he asked.

"He's done it before - remember my dad's wedding to Julie?"

"Yeh but then Jimmy would be walking Summer down the aisle."

Kirsten thought about the situation for a second and then thought about it again until she was happy with her idea.

"Well . . . what if Seth and Hailey walked together, Summer and Ryan and then Marissa and Jimmy? Or would Seth be uncomfortable with Ryan walking his girlfriend down the aisle?"

"I'm not sure but I don't think it'll be much of a problem I mean they all know each other so it's not like we're pairing them up with strangers."

"Exactly."

"Well we'll have a few weeks to determine everything and iron out the creases and if the boys don't like it we can have Hailey and Jimmy together and Hailey can take her place beside her and Jimmy after where Ryan would stand, and then the boys would come with the girls," Sandy commented as he moved to sit beside Kirsten on the bed.

"Ok two things sorted only a couple dozen left."

Sandy simply let out a short laugh and looked over her shoulder at the various paraphernalia scattered around her.

"What are you looking at?"

"Oh just a vast array of things," she answered leaning back against him.

"Yeh I can see that honey," he commented as he kissed the nape of her neck before picking up a piece of paper and read aloud, "'The perfect place for marriage' . . . . It's a cliff."

"It's a bluff," Kirsten corrected with a smile trying to steal the page back.

"Oh a bluff is it?" he teased.

"Yes . . . no gimme it b-"

Sandy was playfully holding the sheet away from her knowing that she wouldn't be able to reach and he began teasing her by bringing it close enough for her to grab but as she lurched forward he would yank it further away.

"Sandy gimme," she giggled.

"Sandy gimme," Sandy mocked.

"Oh so you're mocking me now!"

"Yeh I'm mocking you," he answered before dropping the page on the floor and attacking her exposed sides and began tickling her,

"Sandy!" she tried to scream before being overcome with laughter.

Her husband continued to rub his fingers over her skin as she tried to fight him off of her but he wasn't releasing his grip and she continued to beg him to stop in between laughs as she squirmed on the bed.

But knowing where his weakness was, Kirsten reached up and grabbed a handful of his hair and pushed his head back away from her.

"Ok ok you win, I'm letting go ok you win let go," he hissed as he stopped tickling her.

"No more tickling?"

"Tickling? What tickling?" he asked innocently.

"Ok."

Kirsten relinquished her grip on his dark hair and sat down in front of him on her shins looking at him expectantly but ready to protect herself if he should try to tickle her again.

"I think you took some hairs with you," Sandy moaned as he rubbed his head where she had grabbed him.

"Oh baby I'm sorry," she coddled as she sat up onto her knees.

Kirsten then took her husbands head into her hands and kissed his head where she had untangled her fingers from seconds before. She kissed the spot again and again.

"Is that better?" she cooed.

"Oh yeh definitely," he smiled for when she sat up onto her knees her abdomen had come to the same level as Sandy and her chest had come to eye level, " definitely better sweetie."

Then once she realised what was better she hit him playfully on the arm and came back onto her shins with a huge grin on her face.

"What?" Sandy laughed defensively, "can't a husband admire his wife's body?"

"I guess not."

"Ok."

"Ok."

"Ok?"

"Ok."

"Oh let's not start that again sweetie," he whispered.

During their 'ok' round they crept closer and closer to kissing.

"Ok," she answered.

Knowing that Sandy was going to make a retort, Kirsten didn't offer him the chance to because she simply seized his lips in a kiss but beneath the kiss she could hear him mumble something along the lines of 'What did I tell you' but she didn't care and simply moaned into his mouth 'I know'.

But before they could get anywhere they heard the front door slam shut and the voices of their sons flooded the house or rather the voice of Seth flooded the house,

"The boys," Kirsten groaned breaking away.

"They'll be fine."

Just as they went back to their embrace they heard another voice.

"Cohen! Oh my god!"

"They brought the girls with them," they both said at the same time as they sighed.

Kirsten sat back down again onto her shins and shaking her head while bowed and smiled.

"God that son of ours has impeccable timing."

"Yeh he does," Sandy sighed, "maybe we can knock it off one of these days."

"We could try but it won't work . . . but maybe we can seize this moment."

"I agree," he said moving to her neck.

Kirsten laughed and gently pushed him away.

"As much as I love that idea, we still need to tell the boys that we're getting married again and it's the perfect opportunity for us to tell them and for me to ask Marissa and Summer if they'll be my bridesmaids."

"Ok ok, let's go."

Sandy pulled Kirsten to her feet and walked out of their bedroom and into the family room where they found Marissa and Summer sandwiched between Ryan and Seth. Seth and Marissa were locked in a game on the PS2 while Ryan and Summer simply viewed as spectators with Summer trying to get Marissa an advantage by distracting Seth every once in a while.

Sandy and Kirsten came into the room and Sandy had his hand on the small of Kirsten's back.

"Hey," Kirsten greeted.

They were greeted with a barrage of 'hey's and 'hello's. Kirsten was nervous about asking the girls to be her bridesmaids in front of Seth and Ryan and she tensed up so Sandy took the lead.

"Uh guys, could I talk to you alone?" he said confidently.

"Uh if this is about the shelf," Seth began.

"What shelf?" Kirsten asked.

"What? Never mind," he finished, "so dad you wanted to talk."

"Yeh," Sandy answered but then whispered, "you talk to the girls," into Kirsten's ear.

"Uh girls why don't you come with me?"

Marissa and Summer left with Kirsten through the kitchen into the living room.

Meanwhile back in the family room Sandy had taken the chair next to the couch and began to think of how he would tell his sons that their parents were going to renew their vows but seeing as he was a lawyer and loved to talk words would come easily to him.

"Ok fellas I'm gonna tell you guys something and then ask you something afterwards ok?"

Both boys nodded their understanding.

"Ok, your mother and I are going to renew our wedding vows and we want you two to be a part of it as my groomsmen. I know you are probably wondering why we're doing this but your mother is very precious to me and Seth no sarcastic remarks until I'm finished talking ok and this whole ordeal with her being shot has proved to me how much I love her and how close I came – or rather we came to losing her and I just want to marry her again . . . and we want family and friends there . . . . you can pretend to vomit now Seth," Sandy said.

"I'm not gonna," Seth replied much to his father's surprise.

"You're - not?"

"No, this may surprise you and lately I'm getting good at that but I think it's great, I mean not great but good I mean I'm happy for you guys."

"So you're comfortable with me kissing your mom in public and expressing my love for her in public?" Sandy rambled.

"Ok, dad I said I was happy with it so don't talk me out of it," Seth responded sarcastically.

"Ok I'll shut up, Ryan how about you? How do you feel?"

"It's great for you guys I mean I see how much you love each other and I think it's great that you still love each other after like 20 years and after having him. I'll be happy to be there as a groomsman for you," Ryan commented.

"Thank you . . . both of you."

"So dad, which one of us will have the rings?" Seth asked.

"Well," Sandy hesitated, "you will and Ryan will be my groomsman."

"Sweet."

"Sorry Ryan you know the way he is."

"Yeh don't worry about it, I'm more than happy to be there for you two."

"Thanks Ryan, that means a lot to us," Sandy spoke.

"What about mom? Who is she getting to be bridesmaids? Julie Cooper?" Seth smirked.

"No, she's asking Marissa and Summer right now or trying to I dunno."

At the same time in the living room Marissa, Summer and Kirsten were standing up against the furniture. Kirsten was fidgeting with her fingers and with her new engagement ring while looking around at the ornaments that decorated the space.

'_Come on Kirsten just do it_' she thought to herself.

Taking a mental deep breath she began, "Girls could I talk to you?"

"Yeh sure," Summer answered while Marissa replied, "Of course."

"Ok uh Sandy and I are going to renew our wedding vows in a few weeks, I dunno the exact date yet but we are and uh my sister is coming hopefully to be my maid of honour and uh," she paused as she composed herself and realised that Sandy had indeed taught her how to ramble over the years, "and uh I was wondering if you two girls would like to be my bridesmaids?"

Summer and Marissa stood in front of Kirsten speechless and Kirsten took their silence as a 'no way in hell' and so continued rather quickly, "Don't worry its ok I'm sure I can find someone else if you don't want to."

"No Mrs. Cohen uh we would be more than happy to be your bridesmaids, honoured even, I mean right Coop?" Summer answered excitedly.

"Of course Kirsten, we will be more than honoured to be your bridesmaids for your vow renewal."

"Thank you, thank you so much."

"No thank you," Summer said as she hugged Kirsten and then once Summer released the bride Marissa embraced her too.

"Oh my god we are going to have so much fun!" Summer added eagerly, "I mean trying fabrics, dressing you up in a lovely gown because you have the perfect figure and just having so much fun."

"Yeh we are and I was thinking that I would wear my original wedding dress for the renewal," Kirsten said rather shyly.

"You mean you still have it?" Marissa asked surprised.

"Yeh, my mom bought it and added beads to the bodice as Hailey's wedding present considering she was like 10 when I got married to Sandy and I kept it."

"Oh my god can we see it?"

"Sure Summer, come on it's in my closet hanging up," she replied.

Summer and Marissa let out excited cries that only a teenage girl could when it came to clothes and dresses and in the family room the boys took their excited screams as their response to Kirsten's request to be her bridesmaids.

"Sounds like she asked them," Seth said.

Summer and Marissa followed Kirsten to her bedroom and looked around at the clutter that the couple had created with their wedding plans while Kirsten searched the racks for the bag that held her wedding dress.

After a minute or two Kirsten came back out holding a hanger with a black protective casing over it.

"This is it," Kirsten announced holding it up.

"Come on open it, let's see it!"

"Ok Summer ok calm down."

Kirsten opened the zip facing it towards her so as not to spoil the beauty of the dress for the two eager teenagers. Then she single handily took the covering off the hanger and the bottom of the dress out of it also and let it float to the floor where it settled. Once it was safely out of the casing Kirsten twirled it around to the girls and was greeted with open mouths.

"Oh-my-god," Summer whispered, "that dress is gorgeous."

"Yeh Kirsten, its amazing . . . Summer look at the bodice isn't that work beautiful . . . and look at how the skirt flows to the floor . . . oh my god Kirsten you are gonna look so beautiful in that."

Kirsten simply blushed at their comments.

"Well that was twenty years ago and before I had Seth so I may have to do some more yogalates before I can fit back into it."

"Kirsten? Look at you? You like have the perfect figure and you will be a total knock out in this, trust us, we know," Summer complimented, "and I bet Seth is gonna make yogalates jokes on how its pronounced or something stupid like that."

"Actually that already happened . . . Sandy likes saying yogalates."

"Kirsten, Sandy won't know what hit him when he sees you in this," Marissa added.

"You think so?"  
"Totally!" they replied in unison.

"Ok . . . oh by the way I still have the designs for the bridesmaids dresses just wait here for a second," Kirsten said before disappearing back into her closet with her dress.

She placed her treasured dress back in its protective casing and replaced it back on its hanger before looking through a box on the floor full of pages of drawings and various other artistic media.

"Here we are," she called and then appeared at the threshold of the closet, "I found them."

Marissa and Summer moved towards Kirsten and gasped at the dress design in front of them.

"What do you think?"

"Oh my . . . they're gorgeous," her brunette bridesmaid whispered in astonishment.

"I'm speechless Kirsten."

"So will you guys wear these if I get them for you?"

"We'll wear whatever you want us to wear and Kirsten . . . thanks."

"You're welcome Summer."

"Thanks for asking me to be your bridesmaid and not making me look like a lemon meringue. They say that bridesmaids get horrible dresses to wear near enough all the time and these are absolutely astounding . . . who designed them?"

"I did."

"You? What did you intern at Versace or something?"

"No I just dabbled at anything to do with art and designed these."

"Well you are very talented."

"Thank you," Kirsten accepted shyly, "we better get back to the boys before they lose us in fashion for the next lock of weeks."

"They'll get used to it," Summer retorted smiling.

"And Kirsten, your wedding will be perfect."

"I know it will, nothing will spoil it this time."

* * *

**Ok, that's the new one up and running and I hope you enjoyed reading it because I enjoyed writing it. Another update will most likely come next weekend because that's when I usually update this fic. Take care, K.**


	11. Some Wounds Heal

**Thanks to everyone you reviewed the last chapter, I really appreciated it. I re-read my notes from the precious chapters and remembered something so here is the new chapter.**

**Disclaimer – Don't own any OC character.

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**

The plans for their vow renewal were well underway with Summer and Marissa continuously coming to the house and hyperactivity dragging Kirsten away to test fabrics and getting fittings for the dresses. Kirsten had called Hailey who was more than happy to fly home to be the Maid of Honour and with the added female in the house the high-pitched laughs were near enough more than the men could handle.

So today was the official 'take a break from plans' day.

Sandy woke up to the crash of the ocean and the rippling of the water in the pool a few feet outside the door. Upon waking he was aware that Kirsten wasn't at her usual place beside him which had been a regular occurrence since the shooting but less frequent as of late. He assumed that it was because of nightmares and the gradual dulling of them was the reason that she remained in bed as her sleep wasn't disturbed.

Pulling back the sheets and sitting up, Sandy stifled a yawn as he looked for Kirsten. But once he saw the bathroom door ajar and heard running water he knew she was in there, Then he stood up and padded his way across the carpet through the closet to the bathroom.

Kirsten was dabbing her face dry with a towel and looked in the mirror.

A part of her could still see Jeremy behind her or feel a cold shiver course through her body being reminiscent of his man-handling but the pure ghostly image of him had reverted to a mere misty whisper and his touch had dissipated to a slight shiver as if someone had just stepped on her grave.

Sighing, she twisted her body around trying to see the scar on her back and once she caught a glimpse of it, she tried to run her fingers over it. She had nearly forgotten about them because Sandy had practically kissed and hugged her fear away but when she was asleep and dreaming, Jeremy was waiting and the sound of the gunshot always seemed to intervene in one way or another but in a subtle yet heart-stopping way.

Sandy was leaning against the frame of the door and watched as Kirsten inspected herself in the mirror opposite her.

"You still look beautiful," he whispered.

Slightly startled Kirsten looked to the door and saw Sandy leaning there and looking at her lovingly but although she would never confess it, but when he spoke to her, she could have sworn he sounded just like Jeremy.

After a brief silence Kirsten replied.

"Hi."

"Hey, you ok?"

"Yeh, yeh I'm fine, why?"

"Well you seem a little . . . tense," he commented approaching her.

"Tense?" she questioned turning towards him, "sorry."

"Hey don't be," Sandy said tenderly placing his hands on her shoulders and rubbing them along her arms, "you still having nightmares?"

Kirsten shook her head slowly.

"Kirsten?" he whispered.

Closing her eyes and bowing her head she meekly replied, "Yeh."

"Oh baby," Sandy said soothingly as he took her in an embrace, "why didn't you tell me?"

"They aren't as bad as they were . . . and it's only small things and . . . I can handle it."

"You sure?"

"Yeh."

"Ok," he replied breaking apart and rubbing his index finger over her cheek.

Kirsten leaned slightly into his touch closing her eyes and smiling sadly.

"I uh I have a doctor's appointment to get these out," she said indicating her back.

"Oh alright, I'll take you . . . after all it is our break from the wedding plans," he chuckled trying to keep a serious face for the first half of his sentence.

"Yeh, so uh it's at ten o'clock."

"They gonna start without you if you're not there," he smiled.

Wondering what he was talking about she remembered she statement from the year before in kitchen '_If you're not home by ten o'clock . . . I'm gonna start without you_'.

Kirsten simply smiled and offered a small laugh.

"I should get dressed."

"Yeh, I'll take a shower and shave."

"Ok, I'll meet you in the kitchen."

"Right, love you."

"Love you too," Kirsten said as she walked out of the bathroom closing the door behind her and walking deeper into the closet.

Kirsten decided to dress casually and with simplicity because of the simple fact her stitches where between her shoulder blades and half way down her back practically and she didn't really want to be taking off a shirt and be in her bra as the doctor is removing her stitches. So she chose a black tank-top which dipped low enough down her back to expose the stitches and a pair of baggy dark green trousers which hugged her hips.

Upon entering the kitchen she saw Seth and Ryan sitting at the opposite end of the kitchen island with either their head buried in a section of the newspaper or in a school textbook.

"Morning boys," she greeted.

"Hey," they boy replied not looking up.

Kirsten was amazed at how much Ryan had become like Seth in the sense that he felt like a member of the family. Usually when anyone entered the room, no matter who it was he would look up and address them. Now he acted like a normal teenager and avoided their parents.

Smiling to herself at this, she poured herself a glass of orange juice and grabbed a bowl from a cupboard above her head.

"Whoa mom, you're very uh shall I say casual today," Seth stated.

"Yeh I am," she replied setting the bowl down and reaching across the breadth of the island for a cereal box.

"Is there any particular reason?" he questioned folding the newspaper up quite properly and looking at her quizzically.

Kirsten just looked at him kind of suspiciously out of the corner of her eye and noticed that Ryan was also looking up in wonder.

"There is a reason."

"And what mother might that be? There are no wedding plans today . . . so cardio-bar, yogalates, aerobics, boxing, jogging what?" Seth rambled.

"I'm getting my stitches taken out," Kirsten answered.

"Oh," he whispered, "that was my next guess."

"I'm sure it was sweetie," she answered back as she crossed the kitchen to the fridge for the milk.

After pouring the milk over the dry cereal, she returned it to the fridge and began to eat.

"How're you feeling?" Ryan asked.

"Uh I'm good . . . a little nervous I guess."

"Nervous? Why?" Seth interjected.

"Well, the last time I was there I was just after being shot and I guess . . . if I go back there . . . some of the feelings I felt there will be coming back . . . I just don't like hospitals," Kirsten clarified.

"Well look on the brightside . . . when you come out, it'll only be twelve hours until you, Hailey, Summer and Marissa are back on wedding duty."

"Yeh," she smiled, "thanks Seth."

"So when's your appointment?"

"Ten and you guys can't stay off school."

"Ah man," Seth groaned.

"Seth trying to skip school?" Sandy asked entering the kitchen.

"Yep," Ryan answered.

"Thought I recognised that groan," he continued before kissing Kirsten on the head.

"Hey," Kirsten whispered.

Just then a car horn was heard.

"Uh that's Marissa, we better get going . . . have a good day and you'll be fine Kirsten," Ryan said as he picked up his backpack and loaded his textbook in as Seth grabbed his bag.

"Yeh mom, see you later."

And with that both boys were out the kitchen and out the door.

"You'll be fine?" Sandy repeated, "You ok about this?"

"Yeh just a little nervous I guess . . . you know last time I was there I had an oxygen tube up my nose and I had stopped breathing and I had CPR-" she spoke, "but I'll be fine."

"Ok."

Sandy wrapped his arms around her and placed another kiss on her hair but subtlety he moved her blonde hair and kissed her neck. Then he noticed the stitches that were still embedded in her skin.

Tenderly, he ran his finger down between her shoulder blades and around the scar.

"I'm no doctor but I think that has healed nicely."

"Sandy you know Dr. Cohen isn't allowed outside the bedroom," she replied as she turned to face him encircling his neck with her arms.

Then she kissed him.

"Oh yeh."

Kiss.

"Sorry."

Kiss.

"I forgot," he whispered in between kisses.

"You're forgiven."

"Glad to hear it."

Gently, he pushed her against the kitchen island and continued to kiss his beautiful wife.

One hand went instinctively to the small of her back whereas the other roamed down her thigh over the dark green material.

"You're coffee's getting cold," she managed to say.

"I didn't pour any coffee."

"Oh ok then."

They went back to their frenzied kisses.

Then the phone rang.

"Ignore it."

"I was planning to," she whispered breathlessly.

'_Hey, you've reached the Cohens, if you're calling for Sandy, Kirsten, Ryan or Seth please leave a message after the beep_' Sandy's voice interrupted as the answering machine picked up.

"Kiki, pick up the phone, I know you're home," Caleb's voice demanded.

They continued to kiss.

"Kiki, pick up."

"Kirsten!" he ordered.

Sighing, Kirsten broke their connection, "I better get that."

* * *

"Kirsten Cohen?" a nurse called.

Sandy and Kirsten were sitting rigidly side by side in the waiting room of the hospital. The last time Sandy had been here he had a nightmare about Kirsten dying and was waiting to hear whether or not that dream came true and he thanked god everyday that it hadn't.

Kirsten took a deep breath and stood up followed by Sandy and trailed after the nurse down the hall towards a room. The nurse ushered them in.

"Ok Mrs. Cohen if you'll take a seat on the bed and Doctor Edwards will be with you in a moment."

Kirsten looked around the hospital room and rubbed her arm uncomfortably as she saw the drawers of needles, drugs and other medical paraphernalia.

"You ok?"

"Yeh, yeh I'm fine."

"It's gonna be ok," he comforted placing his hand affectionately on her leg.

"Yeh I know."

Then Doctor Edwards entered the room with a clipboard.

"Ok, Kirsten - stitches out today huh. Big day, I'm sure you're excited," he greeted coming over to her.

"Yeh it is. They were a bitch cuz they itched and the place was so hard to get," she smiled.

"I'm sure. Ok, well let's get them out so you won't have to be mad at them."

"Ok."

"Just lie down on your stomach there for me," he said as he got the instrument he needed to remove the stitches and as Kirsten lay down on her stomach.

Sandy came and sat beside her and held her hand as she moved her hair away from her back. Doctor Edwards lightly inspected the healed wound.

"Oh yes that has healed very nicely and these stitches are more than ready to come out," he reported back and Kirsten couldn't help but smile remembering Sandy's comment a few hours earlier.

Then he began to work.

Stitch after stitch they were removed and all the while Kirsten never let go of Sandy's hand and vice versa. Sandy was alternating his attention between Kirsten and watching as Edwards worked.

Then he was all done.

"Ok, and that makes a bunch of stitches you no longer need," he joked as he disposed the used surgical thread.

"Glad to hear it."

"You can sit up now."

Sandy stood and helped her into sitting where he quickly glanced at her back and saw a minute trace of her bullet wound. But then guilt overcame him as that scar was meant to be on his skin not hers.

Sensing his train of thought, Kirsten gave Sandy's hand a squeeze telling him that she was fine and not to question what she did.

"Ok, Kirsten, one last thing . . . I need to listen to your breathing ok, just to see if your lung is fine, alright?" he said removing his stethoscope from around his neck.

'_Why is that they are always around their necks?_' Kirsten thought unconsciously just as he pressed the metallic part to her chest. She recoiled at the touch of the cold steel.

"Oh sorry, cold?" Edwards said before breathing on it to warm it up slightly and placing it back again, "better?"

Kirsten nodded.

"Breathe in."

She breathed in.

"And breathe out."

She breathed out.

"And just breathe normally."

Again she did as instructed.

"Your breathing is very good and your lung seems to be working perfectly, so that's you, all healed up," he reported back placing his stethoscope back around his neck.

"That's a relief, thank you for everything," Kirsten said.

"You're welcome and just take care of yourself ok."

"Thank you so much for taking care of her," Sandy added sticking out his hand.

"It's my job to heal people and you are more than welcome," Edwards replied shaking Sandy's hand, "now if you'll excuse me, I have other patients, have a good day."

Then Edwards exited the room where Sandy immediately hugged Kirsten to him.

"That's such a relief that you're ok."

"Yeh, the boys'll be pleased."

"Well baby, let's get you home . . . maybe watch a movie," he suggested smiling.

"Or maybe go for a walk."

"Whatever you want," he said kissing her on the cheek.

"Glad to hear it."

* * *

**Ok, that's the new one. I lost Kirsten as the stitches were being taken out cuz I took a break and watched 'The Disappearing Act' with Kelly Rowan and got her character Carolyn in my head so sorry for losing Kirsten. Hope you enjoyed it and I think the wedding might be next. What do you think? Please review. Thanks! Rock on!**


	12. However Fluffy The Day

**Hey thanks for all the great reviews, they really mean a lot to me. This is for all my MSN and KRO girls. I actually felt kinda smutty today but didn't write anything so I'm writing this as I know that Emzzie is anxious for it, so here you go twinnie.**

**Disclaimer – Don't own any OC character except David.

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The day had finally arrived.

The day that Kirsten and Sandy had waited weeks for.

The day that took precise planning, high pitched squeals and numerous fittings to organise but it was finally here.

The vow renewal of Sandy and Kirsten Cohen.

Kirsten started the day like any day; waking up next to Sandy. She smiled at his content features. He was facing her with his mouth slightly open and she could hear a slight dull noise coming from his throat and nose. Kirsten couldn't help but smile at the fact that he was lightly snoring.

'_I forgive your snoring'_

'_I do not snore'_

Sandy always stood his ground at accusing her of snoring but he wasn't exactly a quiet sleeper either because several nights when she had woken up in the middle of the night, she went to the kitchen and when she returned he had begun to snore quietly. But considering she loved him more than anything, she didn't want to interrupt his sleep just to tell him to shut up and to go back to sleep.

'_Well now, the snoring accusation was on the other foot or nose as it should be'_ she thought.

Not wanting to disturb Sandy on this special morning, she swung her slim legs over the side of the bed and stood gathering up her robe off the chair in the corner as she went. Then she padded her way to the bathroom where she climbed into the shower and revelled in the warm water clearing her skin. Kirsten wanted to look beautiful today for Sandy because he deserved the best and she was prepared to circle the earth and thousand times and do whatever was necessary to ensure that there was a smile on his face the entire day. As the water ran down her china skin she rubbed the shampoo into her blonde tresses smelling the familiar scent of apricots.

Once she was satisfied that she was smudge free she dried off and blow dried her hair. Kirsten got dressed into jeans, a simple pink t-shirt and to complete the ensemble she put on green Minnie Mouse socks and white trainers.

She walked back into the bedroom and noticed that Sandy had rolled over and was now facing the closet, so she sauntered her way over to him and bent down to let the tips of her hair tickle his nose and face.

Unconsciously Sandy twitched his nose.

Kirsten continued to let her hair fall on his face.

Then he tried to swat whatever it was away.

She still wasn't swayed by his refusal to wake so she kneeled down in from of him and lightly grazed her lips against his. Unbeknownst to Kirsten, Sandy was aware of her presence and so as she teased his lips, his hand slipped out of the covers and snaked around her waist and when she least expected it quickly pulled her closer to him and locking their lips together firmly.

Kirsten didn't resist but she just opened her eyes widely in surprise but quickly became enthralled in the kiss.

"Morning," she smiled.

"Good morning," he cooed back.

But before they could continue kissing they heard Seth shout down the corridor as he approached, "Mom, dad! I'm coming so please stop whatever you're doing or else I won't be a part of today."

Kirsten stood and went round to her side of the bed and looked at her appearance in the mirror just as Seth walked into the room with his hand over his eyes.

"Is it safe to look?" he asked seriously.

"Yeh it is," Sandy laughed tying the sash on his robe.

"Good, ok uh I've been sent here by Summer to split you guys up."

"Excuse me?" Kirsten asked confused.

"Yeh, something about it being bad luck seeing the bride before the wedding or some girly wedding superstition like that - I wasn't really listening," he rambled.

"Oh."

"Yeh so mom you're to stay here while dad – Ryan has rented to pool house out to you and he'll get ready after you," Seth said.

Sandy simply looked at Seth with a confused look as his son was practically evicting him from his own bedroom and pulling him away from his beautiful wife.

"Okay rule number one – no sneaking between the pool house and here, rule number two – no seeing each other before the ceremony, we will leave before the girls and Hailey, Summer and Marissa will take mom to the place or whatever you wanna call it."

"Question, who made these rules?" Sandy asked putting his hand up.

"Summer," he replied as a matter of factly.

"Oh well since Summer made them we can't break them," Sandy added sarcastically.

"Yeh cuz she gets rage blackouts so I wouldn't mess with her, she may be small but she has a mean right hook."

"Ok then, well I guess that means that we have to split," Kirsten sighed.

"Well maybe not yet . . . you go get breakfast, while I take a shower, I'll go to the pool house with the suit and everything, then when you leave I'll come in to get breakfast," Sandy suggested.

"That could work . . . so mom - breakfast is awaiting," Seth said using an arm to indicate the door.

"Ok, I'll see you later," Kirsten said as she approached Sandy to give him a kiss on the cheek but Seth stopped her.

"Mom mom, you can't see him until the ceremony and that includes no kisses."

"I can't even kiss him on the cheek," she moaned melodramatically,

"'Fraid not."

"This sucks."

"Yeh get used to it, breakfast go."

"Yes sir," she replied mockingly as she made her way to the door.

But just as she walked behind Seth she went onto her tip-toes and over her son's shoulder blew a kiss to Sandy and mouthed '_love you_' to him but Seth noticed his father's change in facial expression and immediately turned around to his mother who had innocently walked out the door trying to keep a straight face.

"Mom!" he ordered.

Sandy couldn't keep a straight face either as Seth turned back to face him holding out his hand.

"Hand it over."

"What?"

"Hand the kiss that mom blew to you over," he said neutrally holding out his hand.

Sandy just complied and mimed handing over the invisible kiss which Seth simply threw away but then Sandy retorted, "I'm gonna want that back."

"You'll get another one later cuz if I'm not mistaken the minister says 'I now pronounce this couple man and wife, you may 'kiss' the bride."

"It's a little different but yeh and I treasure every kiss from your mother."

"Barf."

* * *

Over two hours later Marissa, Summer and Hailey were all in Kirsten's bedroom. Hailey was curling her sister's blonde hair, Summer was gently applying make up to Kirsten's perfect complexion whereas Marissa was hanging up the white dress.

"You excited?" Hailey asked applying hair spray to a strip of hair.

"Yeh I am, really excited . . . I've always wanted to renew our vows but never got around to talking about it and then out of the blue he asks me to marry him again and he bought eternity rings as we found out they were called."

"Oh my god, really?" Summer asked.

"Yeh, I couldn't believe it."

"Aww that's really sweet," Marissa added as she went back into the closet to retrieve Kirsten's shoes.

"Yeh it is," Kirsten said.

All the girls around her could hear the pure adoration in her voice when she talked about Sandy. They all knew that they had a loving marriage and Hailey knew that they were deeply deeply married but they never heard the love she had towards him in her voice. They were truly head over heels in love even after all the years that they have been together and even after Seth.

"Oh my god," Marissa whispered loudly from the adjacent room.

"What?" everyone said in unison.

Marissa came out and placed both hands on either side of the door frame, "you have a guitar?"

"You have a guitar?" Summer repeated.

"Yeh," Kirsten smiled shyly.

"Can you play it?"

Kirsten nodded.

"Are you gonna perform at the reception?"

Kirsten looked around shyly.

"Oh come on Kiks, you gotta, you are so good at playing and you have an amazing voice," Hailey said turning her sister's shoulders so she could look at her face.

"We'll just have to see ok, we need to get busy, I have more hair than you think Hails."

"Yeh and we need to get you into this dress," Marissa said playing with the skirt.

"Yeh and we need to get into our dresses too.

* * *

Kirsten was all ready to get her vows renewed. Her make up was pristinely applied. Her hair was impeccably curled and framed her angelic features perfectly. Her dress highlighted her slender figure and flowed elegantly to the floor where it softly pooled at her feet. She was pacing back and forth waiting for the time so as to declare her eternal love for Sandy. Her bridesmaids were all ready also.

They had chosen a romantic setting for their vow renewal of a vast garden decorated with tulips, roses, daisies and a vast array of beautiful flowers. Chairs were set out for their friends and family and a make-shift alter was made.

Caleb was present for Kirsten this time and Kirsten and Hailey had begged him to attend and he agreed to be there. So he sat in the front row on the left hand side as you walked down the aisle alongside Julie.

Then it was time.

Summer and Seth walked down the aisle together.

Then Marissa and Ryan.

And finally Hailey and Jimmy.

Then Kirsten followed her bridesmaids.

With the white dress she wore at her wedding nearly twenty years previously, she walked her way down the aisle to her husband holding a single forgot-me-not flower which she learned meant 'true love' and that was what she honestly believed that she and Sandy were.

True Love.

Together they stood in front of their friends and family and repeated the vows that they made to each other years ago and that they held true everyday as they woke up together and went to sleep together,

And Seth handed over the eternity ring to Sandy to place on Kirsten's finger and Kirsten repeated the same thing.

Then the clergyman announced that they had just witnessed the vow renewal of Sandy and Kirsten Cohen.

Arm in arm Sandy and Kirsten walked back down the aisle and she rested her head on his shoulder as they walked and smiled happily to their congregation. Caleb had a look of pride and contentment on his face because his marvelled at how beautiful his daughter was and he thought of how he regretted missing their wedding. He missed walking his daughter down the aisle and handing her over to Sandy because watching the ceremony today he saw the look of pure love in her eyes and the smile that was plastered on her face was one of pure joy.

Later that night at the reception Kirsten and Sandy were taking their first dance together and they swayed together to 'Thank You for Loving Me' by Bon Jovi. They had wanted to play the original music that they had played at their wedding but Seth wanted something more contemporary. He tried to forward the likes of Keane, Death Cab for Cutie and Jem. But Jem had sung at Julie and Caleb's wedding and as much as she wanted her to sing, she knew Julie would think she was just copying her. So they decided on Bon Jovi for the dance.

As the night got underway and other couples started pairing off and taking a space on the dance floor, Kirsten forgot about everyone in the room except for her and Sandy. She had her arms encircled around his neck and their foreheads were touching and their bodies were together as they moved as one to the music.

Kirsten then moved her head to his shoulder and rested it there as he wrapped his arms around her waist and placing his nose in the nape of her neck leaving a small kiss there.

"You look so beautiful today honey."

"You think so?"

"I know so . . . You look so angelic, I mean with the curled hair and the white dress, all that's missing is a harp and a pair of wings."

"What about the halo?" she asked.

"Oh you already have that," he replied as she moved her head to look at him.

Then he give her a long loving kiss on the lips.

"I love you," she whispered into his ear.

"I love you too."

"I'm so happy we did this today."

"Me too . . . I love you so much and I was so scared that I was going to lose you when h . . . he shot you, I was so scared. So scared," he whispered facing her.

"But I'm here now . . . and I'm not going anywhere . . . well I might go over to the table to get some water or something to drink but I'll never leave you," she smiled sincerely.

"I'm glad, cuz these means we are together for all eternity."

"Only that long? That's not very long."

"Yeh but I don't know the word for something that goes beyond eternity."

"Sandy Cohen is at a loss for words?" Kirsten laughed.

"You have the effect of me honey," he replied kissing her cheek.

Kirsten looked into his eyes and thought about what to say. She wasn't sure if this was the time or the place but she knew that she wanted to tell Sandy as soon as possible. Kirsten hugged him to her as she watched her boys dance close by with Summer and Marissa.

She bit her lip and begun.

"You may be at a loss for words after what I tell you."

"Oh?"

"Sandy I have something to tell you."

* * *

**Bum bum buuuummmm. What is Kirsten going to tell him? I know you probably know because for some reason everyone can read my mind but please review and let me know. Thanks for reading.**


	13. However Perfect The Day

**I am so sorry it has taken all this time to update this fic but at least I have the update here. This is for Emzzie (my wee twinnie) because I know how much she wanted this updated.**

**Disclaimer – I don't own anything O.C related..

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"I have something to tell you."

"Oh what?"

"Well . . ." she began.

"What baby?" Sandy asked again as his inner child groaned for the answer.

"That's exactly it," Kirsten whispered.

"What is?" I know you're probably sick of me asking this but what? What is it? I know it isn't that you love me because I'm just after hearing it about a billion times today," he joked.

"You are so acting like a child right now . . . like Seth on Chrismukkah morning – well the day with the many presents anyway," she smiled.

"But in an adorable way?"

"Of course."

"So come on what do you have to tell me?" he asked one last time hugging her closer.

Kirsten let Sandy dance her around on the spot for several more seconds as the incoherent words in her head swirled together into the sentence she needed and wanted to say. Her mind inspected the nervous scribble but erased it feeling that it was circling the point. So Kirsten decided to come straight out and say what Sandy was dying to hear.

Nervous, Kirsten hugged Sandy to her and brought her lips to his ear where she delicately whispered, "I'm pregnant."

As the two syllable word was left to echo in his ear, his eye lids remained open with little or no comprehension as to the meaning of what she had just confessed.

'_I'm pregnant'_

Pregnant.

Preg-nant.

As in with child.

His brain usually could comprehend all the information it was bombarded with but this word that he hadn't heard in over seventeen years, suddenly sounded incredibly alien to him.

Pregnant.

"What?" is all his brain and mouth could muster.

He pulled back from Kirsten and looked at her porcelain face.

It was glowing.

Why did he not notice that?

Kirsten didn't answer his question nor did she repeat her simple sentence but she simply looked at Sandy with a shy expression. Yet the sparkle in her deep azure irises communicated everything that needed to be said and everything that didn't.

"Kirsten? Are you . . .? Are we . . .?" he stuttered.

Sandy was simply at a loss.

He was at a loss for words.

He was at a loss for comprehension.

Kirsten saw the blank expression on his face and she could see that he was trying to fit the square block into the round circle. She felt that she would have to spell it out for him. She feared she would have to write it across the sky in gigantic letters.

Yet she merely nodded at his half asked questions.

He stopped floating her around the floor.

Sandy took her hands from around his neck and took them down to her side. He let them limping hang there yet held them delicately.

"Pregnant?" Sandy whispered.

"Yeh," she replied although she was a little hesitant.

Seeing her husband's rigid stance, Kirsten feared that he would let go of her hands and walk away from her because he was unhappy about the pregnancy. She felt like this because Sandy was never that quiet, he never had to ask a question more than once let alone whisper it. When she told him she was pregnant with Seth, he was so stunned that he kept a huge grin on his face like a Cheshire cat and through his white teeth he would not complain that his jaw began to hurt because he was so excited to be a father.

This time was different – there was no smile, just a blank space in his eyes.

With his hand on hers, she inched it along her torso to her stomach where she placed his palm softly on her non-existent bump. His fingertips touched the embroidered silk of the bodice. At the same time, the music swelled becoming invisible to their senses and the only thing that Sandy could see was white material, his hand which was covered by Kirsten's fingers. Her new ring reflected the lights that bathed them.

Eternity rings.

Just like the light of stars that explores the reaches of space without ever getting lost.

Their love will never get lost.

There was a life inside her.

His second child was mere centimetres away from his fingertips; living inside the love of his life.

Being nurtured inside Kirsten.

Out of the blue, Sandy threw her arms around his neck and wrapped his arms about her waist and lifted her off the floor. With her securely in his grasp, he twirled her around on the spot in the air causing the train of her dress to flow out behind her/

Kirsten was taken off guard by this and held onto Sandy tightly as he lifted her.

Twirling around several times on the spot, they got lost in each other again but the couples dancing nearby did not miss the unforeseen display of affection and happiness and they most certainly did not miss what happened when Sandy placed Kirsten back down. Once her feet were on the floor, Sandy took her porcelain face in his hands and passionately kissed her.

"You're happy?" Kirsten said breathless.

"Happy?" he repeated before kissing her again, "Baby I'm over the moon, I'm honestly stunned but oh my god . . . . this is wonderful!"

Sandy hugged Kirsten tightly to him and began to sway to the music on the spot. They held onto each other and simply basked in their love with their child nestled safely inside Kirsten.

"I love you so much," he said as a matter-of-factly in her ear.

"I love you more," she replied.

The melody that swirled around them stopped and the next one started but Sandy took Kirsten off of the dance floor out the double doors of the hall to a patio where he took her in his arms and kissed her.

"It's been a great day," Kirsten commented encircling his neck.

"It certainly has," he confirmed as he placed his hand on her abdomen, "a baby."

Both parents-to-be-again looked down at where Sandy had placed his hand and Kirsten gently covered his with hers.

"A baby . . . our baby."

Sandy and Kirsten looked up and into each others eyes.

"When – when did you find out?"

"A few days ago . . . I felt sick and you know . . . then I had it confirmed with a home test and I went to the doctor."

"H-how far along?"

Sandy had so many questions.

"Well the doctor guessed around five weeks, give or take a day or two."

"So basically not that long after you got . . ." he trailed off not wanting to repeat that near death experience Kirsten nearly had after she got shot.

"Yeh."

"Silver lining."

Kirsten smiled sadly at his comment but knew that this baby growing inside her was the silver lining to her being shot.

The doctor had spoken to Kirsten in depth about the fact that because she had been shot, it wouldn't affect her ability to carry and give birth to her child. Kirsten had feared that it would affect her pregnancy but since it was in her back and nowhere near her uterus or muscles that control the contractions and those needed to carry the baby, then there would be no problem during the pregnancy.

At hearing those words, Kirsten was instantly relieved as emotions of excitement overflowed her.

"I am still amazed at his," Sandy's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"What? Oh yeh me too."

"You ok?"

"Yeh just thinking, nothing that can't wait . . . but we still have another obstacle to overcome."

"Like?"

"Telling the boys."

"Yeh but I'm sure they'll be thrilled," Sandy replied confidently.

"You think so?"

"I know so . . . don't worry, they'll be happy and Seth will get what he's always wanted."

"Yeh but probably ten years too late," Kirsten interjected

"Hey, don't worry ok . . . we'll tackle that together and whatever they can say we'll handle it . . we'll tell them soon enough," he said as he cupped her chin with his finger before kissing her gently.

A cough interrupted them and they both broke away looking at the door where Seth was standing with his eyes fixed on the paving stones of the patio.

"Erm mom, aunt Hailey wants you," Seth announced.

"Ok thanks honey," Kirsten replied as she took Sandy's hand and followed Seth back into the hall.

Just as Sandy and Kirsten walked through the double doors, a dark figure peered out from the shadows. But just as quickly as it appeared, it slithered back into the darkness.

Kirsten entered the hall where she saw Hailey on the stage with a microphone.

"Ok, have we found Kirsten? Have we – oh there she is," her sister said scanning the guests for her.

When Hailey pointed to her, every head turned and looked at her causing Kirsten to feel a little self-conscious and let's just say '_weirded out_'.

"Ok, I'm not sure if any of you know this but three of us found this out this morning but did you know that Kirsten Cohen can play the guitar?" Hailey spoke.

Kirsten's eyes bulged wide open in pure shock.

"And I've known this since I was a kid but Kiks has the best singing voice I have ever heard," she continued, "so I would like my big sister to join me up here."

Kirsten vigorously shook her head and whispered '_no_' between clenched teeth but Seth and Ryan had arrived at her side and began pulling her to the stage by the arms against her objections. But eventually she gave in because she didn't want to ruin her dress through her struggling.

Marissa and Summer where cheering her on while Hailey was ushering her up onto the stage with the mic still in her hand.

"Ok, so since we found out, we convinced the band here to play along with Kirsten, one of her favourite songs by one of her favourite bands."

Blonde curls went flying as Kirsten snapped her neck as she looking sharply at Hailey.

"So Kirsten," Hailey began as someone placed an acoustic guitar over Kirsten's shoulders and handing her a plectrum, "if you would be so kind as to wow these guests."

Kirsten gave Hailey a look of pure discontent and basically communicated the word 'traitor' but as she looked out at the crowd, she saw Sandy looking up at her and all her unrest disappeared and she stepped forward to the microphone that Hailey had placed there.

Her slender fingers went to the first chord of the first progression of the song.

With the plectrum in between her fingers, she made the strings vibrate as she began to play the introduction to '_Iris'_ by The Goo Goo Dolls.

Kirsten's silky voice filled the room and the band harmonized along with her, playing each bass note, every drum beat, every violin note, every nuance perfectly making the room spiral in melodic tunes and words of love written by a very gifted songwriter.

Everyone in the room stood in awe at Kirsten's voice and swayed to the stunning music. Seth on the other hand was looking up at his mother with pride and admiration as he never knew that his mother could play the guitar to such a degree of expertise, let alone know the difference between chord A and chord D. He was amazed at her.

Every word of the verses held meanings for Kirsten because Sandy was the only person she would ever feel comfortable around and feel comfortable being emotionally naked around whereas she locked her emotions away from the world and when it all comes undone; her life comes unraveled, she wants Sandy to be there and to know who she is.

As the song finished up and the she finished singing the last '_I just want you to know who I am_' and played the soft music that made the song come to an end, she was greeted with a large applause from her guests and her father looked up at her from the back of the hall with a smile on his face.

Hailey made her way over to Sandy and dragged him to the stage where she literally pushed him up the steps as Kirsten set the guitar down.

Kirsten turned around just in time to see Sandy cross the stage before he took her face in his hands and kissed her passionately. Then he moved his hands to around her waist while she encircled his neck. He leaned her backwards to which their guests gave out a 'woooooohhhhh' and a couple of 'wolf whistles' erupted.

"Whoa whoa whoa Sandy, she isn't finished yet," Hailey interrupted again as she made her way onto the stage, "she isn't finished yet."

"I'm not?" Kirsten asked perplexed coming back up straight.

"Nope, because we gotta show these people that you can really play the guitar but also show Sandy here how much you love him . . . . so we brought you your own guitar, Summer if you please."

Summer came up onto the stage in her bridesmaid dress and handed Kirsten the electric guitar Marissa found that morning.

"Thanks sweetie," Kirsten said as she tangled herself in the guitar strap while taking the pic in between her fingers again.

"Ok Sandy if you'll scoot . . . ." Hailey said as she went over to Kirsten and whispered, "I am so sorry for putting you on the spot like this but you know I think you're a great singer but come on Kiks you gotta do this . . . . so I told the band to play 'Ultimate' from you know the end credits of 'Freaky Friday' so . . ." she ended before turning to the band, "she'll do a little intro so have fun."

And with that she left the platform.

Kirsten played a little intro and then the band immediately joined in for the main introduction where Kirsten grabbed the mic stand and delivered the first verse and chorus.

Then before anyone knew it, Kirsten grabbed her guitar and masterfully delivered the ripping guitar solo after the second chorus and the crowd was taken aback but most of all so was Seth because he thought that his mother hated that kind of music and there she was playing it.

And with that final note that emanated from her vocal chords she received an even bigger applause to which she simply bowed and smiled.

Setting her guitar down, she negotiated her way down from the stage and went immediately to Sandy who she simply hugged tightly.

It would be foolish to say that their special day was anything short of special.

They had renewed their cherished vows.

Sandy found out she was pregnant with their second child.

Kirsten sang and performed.

Twice.

But an unwelcome shadow lurked mere metres away.

Will this shadow put a wrench in the Cohen's unbreakable marriage or will it pose a threat to Kirsten's baby?

Who knows?

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**I do! I know! I hope you enjoyed this and all lyrics can be found on and I do not own any of the lyrics. I'll try to update these fics more but with being in lower sixth, I might not be able to but I'll try to get my work done during private study and work on this. As always, rock on!**


	14. However Blissful The News

**Ok, I had lovey dovey sentimental stuff in the last few chapters and now I'm back to the same old me and I have a whole thing planned out so it should be exciting. This is for my twinnie Emzzie because she loves this fic.**

**Disclaimer – Don't own any OC character.**

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Sandy opened the front door of the house and ushered his glowing wife in before closing the door behind him where they were instantly greeted by Seth's voice booming, "Dude I thought you could play this! You suck!"

"You ready for this?" Sandy whispered to Kirsten as they inched themselves towards the family room.

"No but . . ."

"You know we don't have to tell them today if you're not ready, we can wait."

"No, the anticipation of death is far worse than death itself . . . best to tell them and send them out for pizza," Kirsten answered shakingly still reeling from her doctor's appointment.

"Ok and if they lose their appetite it's not like they'll die."

"Sandy, that's terrible," she joked.

"Come on," he chuckled silently as he placed his arm around her waist while they finished walking down the hall.

Seth and Ryan had parked themselves on the family room couch with the playstation controllers wielded to their palms and their faces contorted in concentration.

"You say I suck? Dude, you keep hitting me!" Ryan retorted.

"I'm supposed to!"

"Wait this isn't the uh-"

"No Ryan it isn't, so say farewell to your character as it is about to get decapitated by a Jedi Master," Seth said shortly before dropping his controller triumphantly.

"Farewell," Ryan replied solemnly.

"Hey fellas," Sandy announced as they entered.

"Oh hey, I just decapitated Ryan with a light-sabre."

"We're very proud son," he replied trying to hide his sarcasm, "but are you guys busy?"

"Just kicking Ryan's ass on playstation so no."

Ryan just looked at Seth nonchalantly.

"Ok well we need to talk," Sandy began.

"Is something wrong? Is this about the shelf?"

"What about the shelf?" Kirsten interjected almost immediately.

"What about the shelf?" Seth repeated feigning innocence.

"Your mother asked you first."

"Nothing please continue."

Sandy and Kirsten exchanged a glance and made a mental note to ask about the shelf which of course they won't do because they both suck at remembering since they still need to scold them about the rug and whatever vase it was that Seth insinuated something happened to.

On the journey back from the hospital, Sandy and Kirsten had been going over individually what they would say to their sons but being here in real life was a far cry for the safety of their minds. Here they had two teenagers looking up at them and a pregnant woman who had a dry throat with incoherent words which wouldn't be worthy enough to put in a sentence.

Kirsten began to nervously balance her weight from one foot to the other and seeing this, Sandy took the lead.

"Well um there's no real easy way of saying what I'm about to say and it's a good thing you are sitting down so I'll just come out and say it."

Ryan and Seth both noticed that Sandy had begun to ramble even though he recovered nicely at the end by finishing his sentence so they knew that nothing good could come from what was going to be said. Was it the Nana? Did Kirsten have cancer? Was there a huge storm coming to crush California making it a real life version of 'The Day After Tomorrow'? A thousand thoughts went through their minds however Seth's mind had the more eccentric ideas.

"O . . . k," Seth added.

"Well your mother and I," he began as he moved closer to her, "we're . . . we're going to have a baby."

Seth became deathly still and stared blankly at a spot near Sandy whereas Ryan stood up and approached Kirsten where he enveloped her in a hug.

"Congratulations, that's great."

"Oh thank you sweetie," she whispered delighted.

Seth was still unresponsive until he blurted, "I'm sorry I was caught in a little daydream there, what?"

"Your mom's pregnant . . . we're having a baby," Sandy repeated.

"Pregnant? As in pregnant pregnant?" Seth mumbled in an attempt to comprehend the situation and the two syllable word that made every recess of his skin crawl.

"Yes . . . and I gotta say Seth, it's a first for you being so quiet."

"Yeh well it's a first for a 17 year old to have a baby sibling," he spat.

Kirsten bowed her head ashamed. In her dreams she feared that Seth would react like this and her dreams had in fact been premonitions. Kirsten was a teenager when her sister was born but she at least hoped that Seth would be happy for her and not to mention she was near forty with a seventeen year old sister so Seth should put himself in her shoes.

"Seth don't," Sandy warned.

Seth angrily stood up and looked at his parents and Kirsten can't take his gaze and she looks away uncomfortably.

"Can't you at least be happy for your mother and me?"

"After all the lectures you have me? Come on dad!"

Kirsten wanted to flee from the room because tears were threaten to breach their threshold and flow down her cheeks and she was about to turn around when Sandy interrupted her thoughts.

"Kirsten sweetie, why don't you go lie down and rest ok?"

"Yeh sure . . . excuse me," she sorrowfully replied without looking up.

She turned around with her head still bowed, holding one arm as she walked solemnly towards her bedroom.

Once Kirsten was out of ear shot Sandy continued, "Ryan would you please excuse us?"

"Erm yeh sure . . . I uh . . . I have some things to do anyway," and with that he left through the back door to the haven that was the pool house because there was indeed a storm to hit California and that was Sandy and Seth Cohen.

Ryan was stunned at Seth's reaction but more so was Sandy.

"What the hell are you doing?" Sandy asked trying to contain his composure.

"What am I doing? What are you doing?"

"You know what your mother has been through; have you any idea how petrified she was of telling you? And here you are not caring, just thinking about yourself."

"Dad! You guys are too old to have a baby."

"You think we haven't thought of that already?"

"Well obviously you haven't because if you had you woulda kept it in your pants!"

"Watch your mouth! Your mother has had a hard time since she was shot and this has made her overly happy since you guys left last summer and since the vow renewal, you have no idea how worried she was about telling you! And no wonder . . . the reaction you've given her, don't you think she'd been under enough pressure in recent months . . . she still has breathing problems sometimes."

"Yeh and whose fault is that?"

"Don't put this on me, would you rather I _were_ dead?"

Seth looks down at his father's honesty.

"Why can't you be happy for us?" Sandy asked softly, "you always wanted a brother or a sister."

"Yeh when I was younger, younger dad! When I was 4 not 17!"

"W-what difference does that make? It doesn't mean things will change any more than it would if you were 4."

"How do you know that? Ryan and I are this close to college and then once this kid is born it'll replace us before you know it."

Sandy couldn't believe that his own son thought that he could be so easily replaced when Kirsten and he had been smothering him with their love and affection since the moment Kirsten found out she was pregnant with him. And with this new child, they wanted to give it the same attention as they did Seth but they didn't know how to do that without compromising their affection for Seth or Ryan. Will it come naturally?

"Seth, how can you think that? When Ryan came to stay here we didn't replace you, we can't replace you because you will make yourself known believe me, but why do you think we would replace you, you're our son?" Sandy said.

"Because it's a baby, not a teenager like Ryan, it'll cry and cry until one of you go and see to it and leave us."

"That won't happen, your mother and I will never leave you, whether you like it or not, but why can't you be happy?"

"I guess . . ." he began, "I guess since we almost lost mom, I've realised how distant from her I am and I just want her all to myself."

"You mean the world to her Seth and she would never even think of replacing you or shutting you out," he tried to tell his son sincerely.

"Yeh I know."

"And I think you owe your mother an apology."

"Yeh."

"So are you ok with everything now, you know your mom and I love you both?" he asked.

"Yeh I know, it's just that I like things the way they are."

"Well things are gonna change . . . but for the better, I promise."

"I'm gonna hold you to that."

"You can," he said before bringing his son into an embrace.

"I've been an ass haven't I?"

"Just a bit," Sandy joked, "now come on let's go see your mom."

Together they walked down the length of the house to the corner where they climbed the few steps up to the bedroom that is Sandy and Kirsten's. At the threshold of the door Sandy stopped Seth and indicated that he would go in first.

So Sandy walked cautiously at first into the room but once he saw Kirsten lying on the bed facing away from the door did he start to stroll over towards her.

"Hey baby, there is someone here to speak to you," he said as he approached her.

Kirsten however had cried herself to sleep.

As soon as she had come into the bedroom she had thrown herself upon her bed and lay in the foetal position clutching a tissue to her face which was now lodged awkwardly in the exposed nape of her neck. One arm was draped protectively around her stomach as her tear tracks dried upon her cheeks.

Sandy sat down softly beside her on the bed and gently stroked her velvety blonde hair. He pulled the sleeve of his shirt down over his hand and used the material to tenderly erase the tears from her face.

Under his touch Kirsten moaned slightly and scrunched up a little more as Sandy looked over at the door where he saw Seth peeking in

"Hey come on," he teased before kissing her on the forehead.

Kirsten rolled onto her back rubbing her eyes.

"Hey," she answered softly.

"Hey," he replied before kissing her, "you ok?"

"Yeh I'm fine," Kirsten sniffled, "just pregnancy hormones," she tried desperately.

"Yeh."

Sandy looked over towards the door, "I have someone who wants to talk to you."

Kirsten followed Sandy's gaze and say her son shyly enter and shuffle towards her.

"Hey mom."

"Hey sweetie."

Then an awkward silence descended upon the Cohens as Seth wasn't sure of what to say and Kirsten was too melancholy to say anything.

"Well this is a first for the Cohens; no one is willing to talk."

"Well it's not a good idea waking up a pregnant woman, wait let me re-phrase that, it's not a good idea waking up this pregnant woman" she whispered groggily.

"Yeh Seth, she's right, when she was expecting you, she was such a pain."

"That's because your son didn't want to let me sleep," she laughed.

"Well, we just woke you up to erm say that Seth and Ryan have agreed to go out, haven't you?"

"Oh yeh that's exactly it and uh I'm sorry for being such an ass, it wasn't my place" Seth replied taking the hint.

"It's ok sweetie."

Seth leaned across the bed and enveloped his mother in an embrace. Then he thought how come she had to be traumatized for him to hug her?

"Come here you big softie," Kirsten said as Sandy stood back as his son and wife hugged.

Then Sandy joined the huddle.

Then Kirsten broke away, "If you'll excuse I need to go to the bathroom."

"Ok," Seth and Sandy replied in unison.

Kirsten untangled herself from Sandy and Seth and made her way over to the bathroom where she closed the door behind her.

"So you got baby's first surfboard yet?"

"No!" Sandy said defensively.

Seth looked at him.

"Yes," he answered barely audibly, "but that's from when you were a baby."

"Sure it is."

Seth spotted Ryan out in the backyard looking out at the horizon and Sandy followed his line of sight and walked over to the door where he invited Ryan into the room.

"So are you guys ok with everything?"

"Yeh I mean I was a little hesitant as you know . . . but know I'm looking forward to it," Seth answered.

"I'm really happy for you both . . . and Kirsten looks very happy."

"And for you too dude, we are going to be, picture this, 'big brothers'"

"Big brother huh?"

"Yeh and I'm gonna be counting on you two if this is a girl, to protect her from the guys," Sandy said.

"Don't worry dad, operation 'Protect Baby Sis' will be devised a.s.a.p."

"Good because if she turns out to be a little heartbreaker like your mom we'll have our work cut out for us."

"Mom was a heartbreaker?" Seth asked surprised.

"Yep 'fraid so and it took me to calm her down."

Seth merely rolled his eyes at this comment because he knew that his mom had been involved with Jimmy Cooper before his dad but he had looked through photo albums of when his mother was a teenager and he saw the attractive confident eighteen year old that became his mother only a few years later.

"She couldn't resist me," he continued.

"Ok we haven't had dinner yet so shut up," Seth warned, "oh yeh and Ryan we're going out for dinner apparently."

"We are?"

"Yeh."

"I hope you don't mind but I want to make your mom a lovely dinner, she deserves a romantic night after what she's been through."

"Yeh good idea, she does deserve it."

"Yeh but dad, be careful about what food."

"Good point I'll ask her what she wants, you know with cravings and whatever."

"Yeh we don't want her miscarrying again."

Ryan was stunned at the words that came out of Seth's mouth. Had Kirsten miscarried before? Seth instantly regretted the words that escaped his mouth.

"Its ok son, don't worry, you can tell him."

"You see," he began before looking at the bathroom, "when I was 5, mom got pregnant and at 18 weeks just miscarried for no reason, no one could give her an explanation, it just . . . happened."

"So that is why I want her to rest as much as possible and that she doesn't get stressed out because she doesn't have easy pregnancies, Seth's had a problem during it and she was so stressed out but I know she's worrying about this pregnancy because she's not 21 or 26 anymore. . . she's a perfectionist with things and being pregnant is one of those so she'll be high maintenance for a while," Sandy added.

"I can understand that, she musta been devastated."

"Devastated? No. Inconsolable? Yes," Seth replied.

The three men stood there in silence.

Until Sandy realised something.

"She's been in there a while."

All three sets of eyes look at the closed bathroom door.

Two pairs returned to Sandy.

"I'll go check on her," he said moving slowly towards the door.

The white door came closer and closer.

He knocked twice with his knuckles.

"Kirsten baby you ok?"

No answer.

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**Oooooo, why is there no answer? Find out next time hehe. I hope you enjoyed this and I just wanted to make Seth annoying here and a big thanks to Emz who role-played this with me over the summer. We are total geniuses aren't we hehe. Stay tuned for more drama.**


	15. However Petrified You Are

**Thank you so much for all the reviews from the last chapter, I really really really appreciate all the reviews I get and thank you. Here is the new one.**

**Disclaimer – I don't own any OC character.

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"Kirsten?"

Sandy listened intently to try to determine if there was any sound coming from the bathroom.

A trickle of water.

A faucet closing.

Maybe even footsteps.

But none of them could be heard.

"Kirsten?" Sandy asked again.

Yet again there was no answer.

Only the pure slicing silence that was tinged with the echo of his heartbeat could be heard and it was blood stirring in its own right.

"Honey?"

"Dad?" Seth asked from the bedroom.

"Could you two please wait outside?" Sandy said indicating for them to leave without moving his head to look at them, "Kirsten honey?"

In the very core of Sandy's being, fear, horror and pure unadulterated angst coursed through him. His wife was not responding to his call and not even when his fright caused his voice to quiver did she answer nor did she make a sound to communicate that she was fine.

"Dad?"

"Seth please, just wait outside," he barked gently turning around.

Ryan gently placed his arms on Seth's arm and shoulder and tried to coax his out of the room by discrete nudges and tugs but Seth's eyes had glued him to the spot. As long as he knew that his mother was on the other side of that door, he knew he wouldn't move but somehow his legs had begun to shift himself from his place.

'It's my fault . . . I should never have spoken to her like that – I should never have spoken to her like that – it's my fault' Seth repeated to himself in an endless drone as Ryan escorted him out.

Common sense had seemingly vacated Sandy's brain but his hand decided to at that moment to see if the door to the bathroom was open.

He gently pressed down the handle and when he released it, it creaked open by the tiniest amount.

"Kirsten?" he asked delicately as he prodded his head in through the door as he pushed it open.

His eyes quickly surveyed the room before seeing a mass of blonde hair lying motionless by the toilet.

Sandy quickly swung the door open and closed the gap between himself and Kirsten in mere split seconds where he instantly went to his knees taking her face in his hands.

"Oh god, Kirsten?" he cried whispering as he cleared her face of her blonde hair, "Kirsten? Baby come on wake up . . . Seth, Ryan!"

Upon hearing his name, Seth had practically bolted away from Ryan and ran at the speed as someone doing a one hundred metre sprint before barging through the open door with Ryan in tow where he saw his father crouched down holding his mother's head.

"Mom?"

"Seth, I need you to call for an ambulance ok."

"O-o-o-ok," Seth stuttered as panic crippled his very stomach while he retraced his steps out to his parents' bedroom and picked the phone where he dialled three numbers he never wanted to ever call in his life but here he was.

9

1

1

He keyed in.

Meanwhile back in the bathroom, Sandy was tapping Kirsten's cheek in a crude attempt to get her to open her eyes but it was failing miserably.

But beneath him, from deep in Kirsten's throat came a low guttural gurgle which caused her mouth to open faintly.

"Sandy? What are we gonna do?" Ryan asked trying to remain calm.

"I dunno Ryan," Sandy answered in all honesty.

Then the gurgle interrupted the silence again.

Before either of them could react, Kirsten's neck arched and vomit was expelled out of it onto the tiled floor next to her yet her eyes remained shut as Sandy and Ryan jumped into action by moving her onto her side into the recovery position far from the throw up.

"Maybe it would be better if we take her to the hospital ourselves," Sandy said with the stench of panic lingering on every word.

Before Ryan could answer Sandy's remark, Kirsten began to violently cough with deep throaty coughs that resonated in the small room.

"Kirsten? Seth have you phoned yet?"

"Yeh, they're asking if she's conscious or done anything," Seth yelled back from the adjacent room.

Looking down at the sudden pale skin of his wife he had no clue as to how to respond.

"Has she vomited?" he asked.

"Yes!" Sandy and Ryan answer in unison.

Then after hearing Seth's muffled half of the conversation, they saw him enter the bathroom hanging up.

"Are they sending an ambulance? What do we do?" Sandy asked rapidly.

"Well they said that get her to bed and put her in the recovery position and to keep watch on her which I think won't be a problem because I could take first watch or dad and then either me or Ryan could take over so that's ok right, right let's get her to bed."

"Ok, Ryan could you help me lift and Seth could you get some water for her."

Ryan helped Sandy to negotiate Kirsten's small frame into his arms while Seth sprinted to the kitchen where he retrieved a glass and filled it up with cold water. Holding her close to him, Sandy slowly and cautiously made his way out of the bathroom to their bedroom while once there he deposited her softly on the quilt before draping a secure blanket over her body.

Kirsten began to moan and her eyes feebly started to open.

"What happened?" she asked hoarsely and quietly.

"Hey baby . . . you gave us quite a scare there," Sandy whispered sitting down next to her and taking her hand in his.

"I did? What happened?"

"We're not sure, but you collapsed," Ryan added.

"But I'm gonna try to get a doctor to come and see if you're ok, ok?"

Sandy was trying his best not to panic Kirsten because knowing his wife like he did; the first thing she would do was to panic but with her state of being pregnant there was no telling how she would react.

"I can't remember what happened. All I remember is going into the bathroom and feeling sick."

"Honey if you felt sick you should've told me," Sandy said gently.

"I just thought it was the pregnancy and the not so morning sickness . . . I'm so sorry for scaring you."

"Hey you have nothing to be sorry for, how do you feel now?"

"Do you need anything?" Ryan blurted.

"I feel lousy and I could use some water."

"And you shall have water," Seth replied as he held out a glass of water while entering the room.

Seth crossed the room and handed the glass to his mother where her dry lips feebly drank from it.

"Do you know if they are sending out a doctor?"

"Yeh I asked them to send one."

"Thanks son."

Seth joined his mother on the bed and sat on the bed with his feet curled up in front of him and they all watched as she drank and they all noticed when her hands began to shake before she set the glass down on her bedside table.

"How about now? You feel sick?"

"Yeh kinda," she weakly replied but suddenly her neck lurched forward, "I think I'm gonna be sick."

"It's ok, its ok I'm here. Seth-bucket-now!"

"On it," Seth yelled as he ran to fetch a bucket.

Kirsten clamped her hand over her mouth trying her best to keep her bile stored for a little longer but as soon as Seth returned and handed the bucket to Sandy, she heaved forward and deposited her vomit in the bucket. Ryan looked away and Seth cringed whereas Sandy rubbed her frail back.

"Its ok baby."

Her breathing reverted to heavy and drawn out breaths.

Sandy reached out and handed her the glass of water again while she lay herself back against the pillow.

"You ok now?" he asks handed her the glass.

"Yeh just tired."

Again her hands began to shake so Sandy set the bucket down on the carpet next to him and gently held the glass as she sipped.

"I think you should try and get some sleep honey."

"Yeh Sandy's right."

"Yeh, I'm pretty wiped out."

Kirsten started to snuggle down under the blanket but Seth signalled to his father that she should be on her side.

"Baby we need you to be on your side just in case you feel sick again so that you can . . . be near the bucket," he said as he delicately helped to manoeuvre her onto her left side, "there you are."

Practically, as soon as her head hit the pillow again, her eyes were shut and she was fast asleep.

"Ok do you two wanna get something to eat and I'll stay here," Sandy gestured looking at the boys.

"I'm sorry your evening's shot," Ryan apologised.

"It doesn't matter kid, I can do that anytime. The most important thing is that she's ok."

"Yeh . . . so you gonna take first watch?"

"Yeh I can't leave her at the minute."

"Sure, uh Seth and I could go get dinner? Thai?" Ryan said.

Sandy's heartbeat was beginning to calm however so slightly and his eyes had returned to his resting wife where he immediately noticed that her right arm was draped protectively over her small abdomen. He hated to think what would have happened if the reason she didn't respond was that she was miscarrying and he knew without even knowing that after all Kirsten had been through with Jeremy, that she would have been devastated and blamed herself if the worst had in fact came to pass.

But thankfully there was no blood on the tiles of the bathroom nor was she experiencing any pain.

"Sandy?"

The sound of Ryan's voice snapped Sandy out of his reverie.

"Oh yeh . . . uh money is on the table by the door, get whatever you want and uh . . . my usual ok . . . thanks you guys," he replied blandly before returning his gaze to Kirsten.

Ryan and Seth headed for the bedroom door but paused at the threshold as they looked back at Kirsten. Once they felt that she was in good hands and was out of danger, they both left and went to get dinner.

Sandy's eyes rested on Kirsten's peaceful face and then scanned its way down her body and back up to her face.

'_How could she look so peaceful after something like that_?' he thought to himself.

Lovingly, he removed several strands of her blonde locks away from her face but when his skin touched her forehead he noted how clammy it was in contrast to her content relaxed expression.

He gently reached out and placed his hand awkwardly on top of the one she had placed on her stomach. Even though Kirsten was literally centimetres from him he need reassurance that she was in fact there; that she wasn't an illusion or that due to his shock of not getting an answer his brain had come up with this scenario and that he was still in fact standing hopelessly dumbfounded outside the bathroom door.

Kirsten was and is his breath, his blood, his air and his entire being and if he didn't know that she was fine, then one part of him would stop functioning and usually it was his breath as he feared so much for her safety that he forgot to take care of himself even if it was something as basic as breathing. He needed her to do that and with her lying asleep in front of him, he felt secure and able to breathe.

Sensing his own fatigue, Sandy stood up and quickly cleaned out the bucket before placing it back in front of Kirsten on the floor by the bed. Afterwards, Sandy rounded the bed to his designated side and cautiously and methodically clambered onto the bed without disturbing his wife before lying down behind her and setting his head softly onto the pillow where he closed his eyes.

However, before Sandy could fall asleep the sound of the doorbell vibrated in his ears and he groaned slightly at the interference. He knew that Kirsten was still asleep but as he looked at her, he debated whether or not he should leave her alone just in case something happened while he was gone. But then he thought that he could considering that it doesn't take long to answer a door.

The door bell rang again.

'_That's probably the doctor'_, he thought.

Sandy gently rubbed Kirsten's back as he whispered her name, "Kirsten?"

Kirsten simply moaned ever so slightly

"You awake?"

"I wanna sleep," she complained softly.

"I know sweetie but I think that's the doctor, so I'm gonna go answer the door. You gonna be ok?"

"Yeh, I'll be fine, I've got Mr Bucket," she whispered groggily.

"Ok, as long as you have Mr Bucket, I'll be right back," he muttered quickly before kissing her on the head.

Sandy made his way off the bed and out the door making the short walk to the front door.

He jogged up the two steps and crossed the small plateau before reaching out his hand and pulling open the door.

The individual at the door turned around and faced him.

"John?"

"Sandy?"

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**There's the new one. I know these chapters are more dialogue based but there will probably be more action coming later on, I don't know. With this fic I haven't thought that far ahead, with this fic - I just write what comes along. Oh btw, I have a question for you all – what age do you think I am? Those who actually know my age can't answer this but I'm just curious as to what others think. Rock on.**


	16. However Dark The Past

**Thank you to everyone for your wonderful reviews – Mishie, Tina, Panzie, Sunny, FoxyWombat, JK, stephoc, kursk and Emzzie and Em. And as for my age, I was 16 when I started writing this but I'm 17 now and those who guessed older, I love that.**

**Disclaimer – I don't own any OC character – only John.

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**

"John? Oh my- how are you?" Sandy exclaimed as he invited his Berkeley room-mate into his house.

"I'm good."

"So you became the doctor you wanted to be – that's great."

"Yeh, yeh it is and you uh . . . I'm guessing you sold out because this place – wow!" John said admiring the luscious accommodation of his old Jewish room-mate from the Bronx, "well anyway, I was called here to examine a Kirsten Cohen."

"Oh yeh, she's right through here," he responded indicating the adjacent hall while walking towards it.

"I didn't know you two got married."

"Well you left Berkeley before that but looking around, it's all great," Sandy smiled.

John in his mind was replaying his past with the infamous Sandy Cohen and Kirsten Nichol.

He remembered the booze filled nights in their apartment where Sandy and Kirsten would make out on the couch while he talked to their other friends and looked on as Kirsten's tongue massaging Sandy's.

He also remembered the bile that boiled inside himself at the thought of Kirsten Nichol.

Shivers stimulated every part of his being as John thought of her name now – Kirsten Cohen.

But just as his memories began to swirl in his head, they had arrived at the bedroom where Sandy crossed over to a sleeping Kirsten gently coaxing her awake. At hearing her moan her entrance into the waking world, John pushed his memories aside and joined Sandy by Kirsten.

"Hey baby," Sandy started, "the doctor's here."

John looked down at Kirsten and saw that she was still the angelic beauty he had met over twenty years ago – her blue eyes were the same, her button nose was still as adorable and her golden blonde hair was still as enticing and it still sat like a crown on her head.

Groggily Kirsten rolled onto her back whilst rubbing her eyes but when she opened them, she had a hazy image.

But when it cleared, her eyes revealed to her consciousness a face that she had hoped to never see again.

"John?"

"Hello Mrs. Cohen, I'm Doctor Dawson," he replied in a professional manner as he set his case down on the carpet, "I understand you collapsed earlier."

"Yeh," she replied hazily.

"Yeh she did, about an hour ago."

"Ok, so I understand you're three months pregnant?" he added trying to suppress his pure hatred towards Sandy and the fact that she's pregnant with his child.

"More or less," she replied trying to suppress her fear of him.

"Will the fall have hurt the baby?" Sandy asked concerned.

"Well I can check for you," John offered reaching down to his bag to collect his stethoscope.

Kirsten kept her eyes transfixed on her abdomen where her child was safely nestled and her instincts and fear overwhelmed her and the doves and butterflies that she held in her body fluttered like mad making her fear for her child's wellbeing.

"Could you?"

"Yeh of course."

"That would be great."

'_That would be great, fuck you Sandy Cohen!' he thought mockingly and threateningly in his mind._

"Ok, Kirsten could you sit up for me."

"Hang on there baby, let me help you," Sandy blurted as he assisted Kirsten to sit up.

'_Oh aye Cohen you have to help everyone,' he thought._

"So Kirsten have you been in any pain?"

"No, just sick."

"Is that off and on or constant?"

"Off and on," she coughed avoiding eye-contact.

"Ok, well I can write you a prescription to ease the sickness," he said as he retrieved his stethoscope, "Right Kirsten, I'm gonna need you to lift your shirt so I can listen to the baby's heartbeat."

Inside her mind, alarm bells blurred inconceivably loudly.

"_John get off me!" she screamed as his hand pushed her shirt up._

But the cold touch of the stethoscope on her exposed abdomen caused her to jerk away almost immediately with the look of fear in her eyes as the memory took over her thoughts.

"Sorry, I didn't think it would be that cold."

"No, no, it's ok," she said feigning embarrassment maintaining a psychic link with her unborn child as she held her rings.

John gently blew on the metallic disc before placing it back on her abdomen and began to listen for a heartbeat.

"Yep, good strong heartbeat," he announced listening.

"Thank god," Sandy breathed as he looked at Kirsten who smiled up at him, "so why did she faint?"

"Well judging by the fact that I'm sure she's still a workaholic like back in Berkeley and that she probably didn't have breakfast, I'd say it was her body telling her to eat and that the baby assimilates as much energy as it needs to grow and Kirsten didn't have any left over for herself so she fainted."

However, as John removed the disc from her stomach, his hand accidentally grazed her skin and she jolted slightly away. At the touch of his skin, the spiders of the past began to crawl over her body and the shadows of the past started to descend over her being and envelope it as the suppressed memories of dust were reconstructed in front of her very eyes.

Nervously, Kirsten ran her hands over her arms and occasionally scratched her nails in an attempt to remove the arachnids of her fears away. She tried to remove the black multi-legged specimens of disgust and night that moved over her skin. Then she remembered her exposed stomach and protectively pulled her shirt back down as if not allowing the shadows to influence or harm her baby.

"You ok?" Sandy asked soothingly.

"Yeh . . . just a little chilly . . . you know pregnancy hormones," she answer in an attempt to alleviate her own anxiety as well as Sandy's.

As Sandy delicately pulled the blanket back up around Kirsten, John eyed them repulsively through the corner of his eyes. The hatred he felt for the two of them started to build up again inside him like tiny little Lego blocks that were piecing together the fire in his lungs and that heated the revulsion that pulsed through his body.

Just as Sandy was about to lean down to kiss her cheek John interrupted.

"Shit, I must have left it in my other bag," he blurted.

Sandy paused and looked around at John.

"What?"

"Oh uh . . . uh the uh tablets that the hospital forgot to give Kirsten the uh folic acid for the good development of the baby, could you go out to the car and get them while I quickly write out this prescription?"

"Sure thing."

And without another question, Sandy walked out of the room leaving Kirsten with a man she would not like to be around let alone be in the same room as.

"So Kirsten how have you been?" John asked in a feeble attempt to make conversation.

"Fine," she replied coldly.

"Good, I'm glad."

"Like hell you are," Kirsten blurted.

John simply ignored her remark and continued to write out the prescription.

"So you and Sandy . . ."

'_That was an odd comment' _Kirsten thought. Why was it so inconceivable to him that she and Sandy had gotten married but the tingles of the shadows ice cold fingertips caressed her skin.

"What is that supposed to mean? Me and Sandy?"

"I just can't believe you two got married," he laughed, "I mean it was always on again off again with you."

"Well you sure know about the 'off' part don't you!"

"What the hell does that mean?"

"You know god damn well what it means!"

"Well you don't need to worry about our night together, I didn't tell him anything . . .and it's not like he'll care anyway . . . you guys weren't together at that point," he replied nonchalantly.

"What night? It wasn't our night! It was you taking advantage of me!"

"_John please stop, you're hurting me," Kirsten begged._

"You know as well as I do you wanted it as much as me."

"Yeh and my screams for you to get off me where just calling you on, weren't they?"

"Oh that they did sweetie . . . and wait if it didn't mean anything to you why didn't you say a thing to Sandy?" John questioned.

"Because you were his best friend!"

"Best friend?" he laughed, "he knew how much I liked you but would he stay away? Oh noooo, he had to have you for himself and rub it in my face! Is that what friends do?"

"Is raping your roommate's girlfriend what friend's do?" Kirsten retorted angrily.

"It wasn't rape, you wanted it! Why else did you play with me?"

"I didn't! So the scratches, the bruises, the tearing, that was all I wanted? It sure as hell wasn't."

"You know you did, why else did you come that night?"

The memories of that night assaulted her. She prayed that she had fully suppressed the remnants of what had happened but as his bruising kisses came down on her and his nails dug into her skin, she was falling further and further into the gloom of her past. It seemed that the dust and the dirt of his crime had caught up with her. She felt like she was pinned up against the wall again.

"I came to see Sandy but I didn't know he was out that night, I didn't know what he was up to then because we were – we were b-broken up at that point," she remembered.

"Oh please Kirsten . . . you are still a pathetic liar but don't worry he doesn't have to know."

"Yeh he doesn't have to know what you did to me," she barked.

"He doesn't have to know what?" Sandy asked coming back into the bedroom with the bottle of tablets in his hand, "What's going on?"

Kirsten looked at her husband and the secret that she had tried to protect him from for so long was about to be revealed. And John had the perfect opportunity to tell him everything.

"Nothing. It's nothing."

"Really? Because from what I've heard it doesn't sound like nothing . . . does someone wanna tell me?"

"Sandy I feel sick!" Kirsten feigned trying to divert Sandy's attention no matter how vaguely.

Instantly Sandy crossed over to her and held up the bucket to her while holding her closely.

"Well I best be going," John said as he tried to conveniently walk out the door.

"Hold on, you're not going anywhere until someone tells me what's going on . . . so unless one of you start talking it's gonna be a long night . . . so what is it that I'm best not knowing about?"

"False alarm," Kirsten whispered fearing that Sandy was expecting her to vomit.

"You sure?"

"Yeh but just stay here please."

She didn't realise that what she said had a hidden meaning as she wanted him to stay where he was and that she needed him to stay where he is after the secret is revealed. She needed him to stay.

"Ok . . . so do you wanna tell me what's going on?"

"Ummm," Kirsten thought.

"Look sweetie I'm not stupid, I know something's happened, but it seems as usual I'm the last to know about anything around here."

"_John, Joh- stop it please, please stop," Kirsten cried._

As the memories assault her again, Kirsten's eyes began to well up and she started to sob.

"It's nothing Sandy," John said.

"I know it's something, I can tell and judging by Kirsten at the minute there is something . . . Kirsten please don't lie to me . . . what happened between you two?" he asked Kirsten.

"Do you . . . do you remember when we broke up?" she asked feebly through tears.

Then it clicked with Sandy. Seeing as he was out most nights wondering Berkeley thinking about their relationship and their break-up he naturally assumed that seeing as Kirsten was mad at him and that John was already in love with her that they had a one night stand.

"Oh . . . so you hooked up and didn't want me to know?"

"No, it's not what you think!" Kirsten cried.

"Really? God Kirsten we were broken up for 2 weeks, maybe less!"

"No Sandy it's not like that . . . if you'll let me explain," she tried as she placed her hand on her stomach.

"Ok I'm waiting."

She took a deep breath and tried to brave the tidal wave of memories and emotions that washed over her in a torrential flash.

"While we were broken up . . . I-I-I-I came over to your place to apologise . . . John was there, you weren't . . . and . . . and I was upset and-"

"You needed comfort? What?"

"No I needed you but . . . he was there and god," she stopped.

"What are you trying to tell me? It was a mistake."

Her breathing had began jagged as the tears stung her lungs.

"He forced himself on me," Kirsten managed to cry.

Slowly and sinisterly Sandy moved his head to look at John who simply looked back at Sandy with a look of pure fear.

"No I didn't, we got caught up in the moment!" he tried.

"No we didn't, you raped me you son of a bitch," Kirsten screamed.

In his mind's eye, Sandy tried hard not to think about what John could have done to her that night, how hurt she would have been and how betrayed she felt. But all he could think about is her tear-stained face both in the past and in the present.

"You raped her?" Sandy asked quietly.

"No I wouldn't do that," he stuttered.

"Yeh right John . . . Sandy do you remember after we got back together . . . I wouldn't let you touch me for ages?"

"Tell me John is this true?"

"No Sandy come on we're friends, I wouldn't do that to you come on who are gonna believe huh?"

"You know I think I'm gonna believe my wife . . . it all makes sense now . . . you moved out just after me and Kirsten got back together and no wonder she never came over because of what you did you son of a bitch!" Sandy barked before suddenly bolting towards John and pressing him firmly up against the wall with his arm locked against his throat.

"Sandy no he's not worth it."

Ignoring Kirsten, Sandy continued to hold John by the neck, "Why John huh? Why hurt her and not me? Why!"

"I didn't!"

"Really? See I don't believe you!"

Kirsten kicked back the blanket and stood up off the bed and crossed over to Sandy.

"Sandy, stop, he's not worth it," she begged pulling at his arm.

"Don't Kirsten he needs to be punished for what he did to you . . . Did you think you'd get away with this John huh?"

"No, I didn't mean to," he coughed.

"You didn't mean it!"

"Oh really, you didn't mean to make my life a living hell then? You didn't mean to make me preg-" Kirsten said but cut herself off at her last word.

Sandy whipped his head around to look at Kirsten. She was standing back from him running her hands up and down her arms and over her jeans.

"Oh god," she whispered before retreating out of the room.

"You better hope for your sake, she doesn't say what I think she is because I can not be held responsible for what I do to you!" Sandy said through clenched teeth as he knocked the back of John's head onto the solid wall behind him causing him to fall to the fall holding his crown before running after Kirsten.

"Kirsten!" Sandy called after her.

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**These recent chapters are kinda strange but I hope you like them. Till next time, rock on!**


	17. Some Shadows Scream

**I know it has been absolutely ages since I updated this but I'm bored tonight, just after watching 'Centre Stage' and there is no action on MSN so and there haven't been many Kirsten/Sandy fics lately so I just thought that I'd give HDTN a spin hehehe. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer – Only own John.

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Kirsten had fled from the mansion distraught at the word she had almost said in front of her husband. Actually, it wasn't the word that frightened her; it was the memory and the fear that surrounded the word that scared the wind out of her.

Pregnant.

Her feet continued to move swiftly as flashes of that night continually assaulted her eyes.

She could feel his hands on her body, his lips on her neck and how his fingers trailed bruisingly over her skin. His voice still rang in her ears even after all the years that she had convinced herself that she had blocked him out.

Her boyfriend's best-friend had raped her in the apartment they shared.

"Kirsten!" she heard from behind her but her feet continued to place each other in front of the previous.

The footsteps from behind her were edging closer and closer until a hand encircled itself around her wrist at which it flung her around.

Kirsten fell into Sandy's chest with rivers of tears streaming down her cheeks as she rested her forehead on his chest while she softly pummelled him weakly with her fists. Her small hands knocked off his cushioned sweater and Sandy's arms held her closely to him despite her efforts to pull away but knowing the fragility of his wife and her distress she quickly faded and incoherently wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder.

Sandy felt every tremor of her body, heard every hiccup in her breathing and every sniffle that escaped her nose. He simply couldn't believe that someone that he had trusted had hurt his wife so extensively and so brutally. But more importantly that she had kept it from him.

Everything started to make sense to him.

The period that she was on edge around him after they had gotten back together. Every time he would kiss her neck from behind would cause her to jump, every time he moved his hand to the base of her shirt, she stopped him.

She was afraid.

She had been hurt and he hadn't been there to stop it.

She felt like she had to deal with it alone and not let him offer his shoulder to cry on and his arms to cry in.

"Ssshh, hey ssshh, it's alright I'm here, I'm here, its ok," he whispered soothingly into her ear as her gut-wrenching cries continued to be muffled by his clothes.

As Sandy continued to whisper is words of comfort in Kirsten's ear he gently swayed her from side to side.

As the soft California breeze surrounded them, her sobs began to subside for the time being.

"Hey . . . you ok?" Sandy asked concerned.

She shook her head ever so slightly.

"What happened Kirsten?" he asked softly while wiping a remaining tear from her cheek.

Kirsten looked down at the ground beneath her feet and replied in a barely audible voice, "You know w-what he did? What I said?"

It was Sandy's turn to nod.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I felt so d-degraded and ashamed."

As she answered, Kirsten's finger-nails dug at her skin as if trying to remove the clumps and clots of dirt that had suddenly appeared on her skin. Her nails dug into her skin relentlessly.

"So degraded," Kirsten replied.

"And it was better that I find out like this . . . come on we're supposed to tell each other everything," he continued delicately as he took her arms lightly in his hands but then he looked in her azure eyes, "and I can't believe you kept something like this from me."

"I know . . . I dunno why," she cried, "I wanted to tell you but we were so happy when we got back together and I . . . I . . ."

"What? Kirsten sweetie I need to know."

"I – I found out that I was . . . I was," Kirsten stopped.

"Pregnant?" Sandy whispered.

"Yeh."

And with that, she buried her head back into his shoulder.

"Was it his?"

She nodded.

"What . . . what happened?"

"I aborted it," Kirsten breathed as she stood back up straight where she hugged herself.

"How could you not tell me this? Did you think I wouldn't stand by you?"

'_No Sandy of course I didn't, when I was crying alone on my bed I was thinking, to hell with Sandy, he doesn't love me, he couldn't care less if I was a rape victim and ended up pregnant'_ she thought.

"Well would you have honestly raised a child that wasn't yours?" she questioned back, "I didn't want it and I knew that I wouldn't be able to look at it without seeing him."

"I don't know . . . . but I guess I wouldn't've, not if I knew it was his after what he'd done to you . . . but are you sure it was his?"

"Yeh . . . we use . . . you know and he didn't."

Her eyes were firmly fixed on the path below and she concentrated on the tiny pebbles that lay haphazardly scattered on the tarmac. Each pebble, even though few in numbers represented the numbers of times she had aborted his child in her memory. She mentally buried it all those years ago and along with it the memory of John but that long forgotten tomb had been opened and her spectres had flooded out from it in a vast array of screams, begs and cries.

"Did he know you where . . .?"

"No, he left immediately after practically."

"Son of a bitch," he breathed angrily, "but I still can't believe you didn't tell me, we could've sorted this out . . . we could've at least gotten him charged for it."

"And then my dad would've found out and ordered me to return to Newport immediately and I would've banned from ever seeing you again because he was your roommate . . . god Sandy you know how protective my father can get."

"I can . . . . ok, ok you're right about your dad," Sandy replied, "so that's the reason you were so distant when we got back together?"

Kirsten didn't want to admit it to Sandy but every time he kissed her, she felt John's harsh lips instead of his tender ones.

"And I thought it was because you thought you'd made the wrong decision about us getting back together," he confessed.

Shrugging shyly, she explained, "I came looking for you that night . . . to tell you that I was stupid and that I loved you . . . and I was about to leave when he said that you'd be home any minute . . . I was upset so I waited . . . I needed to see you . . . he forced himself on me and I wasn't strong enough – I tried to fight him."

Sandy quickly stepped forward and enveloped her in his embrace.

"Hey, I don't want you upsetting yourself, ok, we'll get through this. I'm just so sorry that I wasn't there to protect you."

Just the thought that he was somewhere enjoying a beer while she was being destroyed made her tears even fiercer and they were immediately soaked up by his sweater. Every tear that fell, was a reminder of every second that she had spent pinned against the wall. Her shudders became more violent.

"Ssssh baby, I won't let anyone hurt you ever again, I promise . . . I should never have let him in the house . . . I knew something wasn't right."

"I'm sorry," she cried in between breaths.

"You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for," Sandy said as he placed a tender kiss on her hair.

That was a trait that he had both adored but loathed in Kirsten. She always felt the impeccable need to apologise even when she didn't have to, even if it wasn't her fault, she would feel compelled to apologise.

"I should've told you . . . it's my fault, all this is my fault . . . if I hadn't've had the abortion, maybe the miscarriage might never have happened, I dunno, I'm so sorry."

"You can't think like that, none of this is your fault and you were probably best not telling me when I think about it . . . because I would've killed the bastard."

"I can remember it all . . . please make it stop," she cried as she clutched at his sweater.

Sandy gently lifted her chin with a finger and lightly kissed her lips, "You don't need to worry. I'm here now and I'm not going to let anything like that happen to you again."

Kirsten pulled him closer to him and she held him tightly. His warmth overshadowed her demons and calmed her soul.

"It's going to be ok . . . I promise."

They remained locked together in their embrace for several minutes before a shiver racked through Kirsten's body.

"I think it's time to get you back into the house," Sandy suggested.

"I agree and I think the baby will too."

"Yes, we don't want the baby to get cold either," he continued as they way walked back up the path to their house with his hand on her slightly growing stomach at which her hand rested on top.

Sandy placed a soft kiss on the side of her head before she wiped the final tear streaks off of her face.

"Where are the boys? I hope they didn't hear all that?"

"No they didn't don't worry, they're away out getting dinner," Sandy answered.

But unbeknownst to Sandy and Kirsten, Seth and Ryan were parked in an adjoining street and witnessed the whole episode but thankfully they couldn't hear any of the words that were spoken.

"What do you think that was all about?" Seth enquired to Ryan.

"I have no idea."

"Well it has to be something serious because my mom would not cry like that over spilt milk, so to speak."

"I know"

"Should we ask them?"

"No . . . no I don't think we should."

"Well, should we give it a while and see if it comes up again and then ask?" Seth suggested.

"Maybe."

From their hiding place they watched intently as Sandy and Kirsten entered their house and closing the door behind them.

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**Ok that's another instalment for a few months hehehe. Just kidding. I'm hoping to update this one more now but I'll try my best too. Rock on.**


	18. Name Perfect

**Ok, I decided that although today I didn't think I'd have time to update HDTN, I decided that I did have time. I apologise for any spelling or grammar mistakes. This is for Emzzie as she loves this fic. Love you angel.**

**Disclaimer – I don't own any OC character.

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**

Kirsten and Sandy lay entangled comfortably on the family room couch with the television remote snuggled in their hands. On the television screen played The Philadelphia Story which showed socialite Tracy Samantha Lord getting into all kinds of havoc in the run off to her high profile wedding but when her ex-husband C.K Dexter Haven appears, her plans all go array.

"Katharine Hepburn is amazing isn't she?" Kirsten commented.

"I know, she's one of the greatest of the greats in Hollywood," Sandy replied.

"And so is Cary Grant."

"Yeh but you're just saying that because you had a crush on him when you were younger," he joked.

"Hey. He is so gorgeous, what girl wouldn't like him?"

"I'll give you one – begins with H."

"Well Hailey wouldn't know gorgeous if it whacked her in the face," she said.

"No?"

"Nope."

"What about you? Would you know gorgeous if it whacked you in the face?"

"Oh please, I loved Cary Grant so I'd say that's a yes and besides," she started, "I got you."

Sandy smiled as if proud of himself at her comment. His wife thought that he was gorgeous in the masculine kind of way. He looked back at the television screen and saw the handsome looks that Cary Grant exuded and could see why he played Katharine Hepburn's beau in Bringing Up Baby, The Philadelphia Story, Sylvia Scarlet and Holiday. Their on-screen chemistry was a treat to watch and it reminded him of the chemistry that he and Kirsten shared.

Their love was crazy.

Meant-to-be.

Eternal.

And no matter what happened, they would end up together.

Gently he leaned forward and kissed her silky blonde hair as he spooned her body.

It had been four weeks since John's visit and four weeks since Kirsten's confession that John had raped her. It had been four weeks of crying, nightmares, flashbacks and torment for Kirsten but she hid it away from Seth and Ryan until she was behind the closed doors of her bedroom.

Throughout those four weeks, Sandy had been by her side with his arms around her to face the demons of the past that had once been turned to dust. He held her at night when her screams from her memories awoke her suddenly and he wiped about every tear that fell. Sandy knew that Kirsten let every tear be shed and not one was wasted as she was crying for the innocence that had been striped away from her that night.

It was a slow recuperation but Kirsten was getting there with Sandy holding her hand as if she were taking her first steps.

Sandy removed his hand from the remote and traced it back up her arm until it was level with her growing stomach where once there he gently settled his hand on her bump.

"How's the baby?" he asked.

"The same as it was ten minutes ago," she replied smiling as she turned to look up at him.

Sandy simply chuckled to himself at her response and he knew fine rightly that he had been asking about the baby too many times but with this child inside his wife, he knew that he would protect it from its very first breath. Considering what Kirsten had been through, he knew that he would never take his eyes away from their baby.

"That's one thing we need to discuss," he said.

"What's that?"

"Calling the baby 'It'. It doesn't sound right does it, always referring to him or her as 'It'. I know we want to be surprised but maybe we can think of names," Sandy suggested.

"And I suppose you have loads in mind," Kirsten smiled sitting up.

"Well now come to think about it," he thought out loud trying to retain his composure.

"Liar. Stick to the truth, that's what you're good at."

"Really? Well let's just hope this baby gets my honesty, little miss bad-influence on her sister Kirsten."

Kirsten feigned shock and innocence at his accusation and Sandy couldn't keep at straight face.

"And I think you should stick to being you because innocence really work," Sandy laughed.

Kirsten picked up a cushion behind her and batted Sandy with it to which he tried to protect himself but by raising his arms to protect his head, he left his torso unguarded and Kirsten took full advantage and playfully hit him on the stomach with her hand. He coiled up to sitting and she simply smirked at him.

"Oh Mrs Cohen," he gasped.

"Yes?"

"I sincerely hope the baby doesn't find out you've been abusing her father."

"Well the baby told me – the baby said that since I'm in your tummy, hurt daddy because he doesn't have to."

"Right," he began, "so are we doing this name thing or what?"

"Once you catch your breath then yes."

Sandy leaned up against the arm of the couch and moved his legs so that Kirsten could lean up against the other arm and stretch her legs out along the couch. He rested an arm over her ankles and rubbed her calves.

"So, any suggestions?" Kirsten asked.

"Nope, you?"

"And this was your idea, smart man you are," she smiled, "but I do have a question."

"Fire away."

"Does the name have to Hebrew like Seth's was because your mother insisted on your first child having a Jewish name?"

"Good question . . . and my Ma did not decide Seth's name."

Kirsten looked at him expectantly.

"Ok, she did but we chose it – it suited Cohen – and I'm sure we can choose whatever name we want," Sandy replied.

"Ok then . . . then I have a few names."

"I knew you would, you still have the baby name books since Seth was born."

Kirsten giggled softly.

"That's true . . . how about . . . Darcey?"

"As in Darcey Bussell – English Prima Ballerina?"

"Yeh."

"It's a definite possibility, I like it. Darcey Cohen"

"Really? I just thought that it may be weird to name her, if it is a girl after a ballet dancer," she confessed.

"No, it's sweet, because who knows, she may follow in the foot steps of her mother and dance ballet or be a dancer or be a doctor."

"I know for one thing, she will not be getting into the Newport Group. No way."

"Ok . . . and any suggestions for a boy? Cuz I have one."

"I don't actually have one . . . what's your idea?" Kirsten enquired.

"Thomas."

"Thomas?" Kirsten thought, "Thomas Cohen, Tom Cohen."

"Or William."

"Those are good, those are really good. You know I should really get some paper and write these down."

Kirsten turned around and searched through the table beside the couch for a notepad and pen and once she finally retrieved them, settled herself back comfortably on the couch.

"Ok, so we have Darcey, William and Thomas – how about Emily?"

"Definitely. Erm – James."

"I don't think we can have that."

"Why not?" Sandy asked.

"Think."

"Oooo, Jimmy."

"Jimmy. So keep thinking."

"Lee?"

Kirsten noted down the name.

"How about Laura?" she suggested.

"I like it – Olivia?"

"I love it," Kirsten gasped placing a hand on her heart, "Olivia Cohen is so beautiful and the nicknames that can come from that – Liv, Livie aww it's so cute."

"So Olivia Cohen?"

"Just hearing you say it makes it so perfect."

"It does sound lovely," Sandy added, "and since we have a daughter's name decided how about a middle name?"

"Hopefully not one she will hate like Seth with Ezekiel."

"Any ideas?"

There was silence between them as names circled in their minds or a gaping void answered their quest for a name.

"Oh, I think I have one," Kirsten interrupted.

Sandy gestured her to tell him.

"Anneliese."

"Anneliese?"

"Yeh, I know it's a different version of Annaliese but I just thought of it and I think it's beautiful and it would go perfectly with Olivia," she babbled.

"Olivia Anneliese Cohen," Sandy whispered to himself.

Several seconds past.

Several more seconds ticked past.

"Olivia Anneliese Cohen," he whispered again, "sounds like we have our daughter's name."

Kirsten smiled in elation.

"We have our daughter's name – our daughter's name – our daughter."

"Yeh we do . . . all that's left is to think of a boy's and I have no clue."

"Neither do I," Kirsten confessed.

"Do you wanna wait until we actually have ideas to decide our son's name? Just to be on the safe side because I doubt he'll thank us if we give him a name that just came out of thin air."

"Sounds good."

Kirsten honestly didn't have a clue as to how to name her child if it was a boy. To be honest to herself, she had only ever thought about girl's names because she wanted a little girl so desperately. She wanted a daughter with long blonde hair which she would plait whenever her daughter begged her too, she'd dress her up in the cutest clothes and play 'House' and 'Dress-up' with her little angel.

Kirsten thought that she would have a greater chance of having more in common with her daughter than with her sons; Seth was into comic books and science fiction and skateboarding and music whereas Ryan was more into sports. Kirsten didn't fit in with any of that but lately Seth's creative side had bloomed and his art work was truly amazing. She could see a little girl with a little pink tutu running around the house giggling and that imagined blossomed into a teenager practising pirouettes in the family room.

"Honey?" Sandy interrupted causing her to come out of her reverie.

"What?"

"You ok? You spaced out there for a wee while?"

"Yeh I'm fine, just day dreaming."

"About anything in particular?"

"No . . . don't worry it wasn't anything bad about you," she cooed.

"Well that's good to know."

"Is it? Because it could've been something stupid that you did."

"Was it?"

"No," she replied, "but I have been thinking . . . I think I want to go to back to work."

"Back to work – but honey you were sh-"

"Yes but that was months ago . . . I'm better, I'm healed and I can handle going to work . . . I may be pregnant now but I'm only a few months pregnant, more or less four months and there is still a lot of time before the baby comes and I can't spend it in the house all day. And there is a limit to the amount of Jerry Springer and day-time soap operas the mind can take."

Sandy thought silently to himself and weighed up the pros with the cons about what she was suggesting. What if someone entered the Newport Group and put a gun to her face? What if something happened to her on the way to and from work?

'God shut up Sanford, you're being paranoid' he thought to himself, 'she'll be fine'

"Well if it's really what you want to do, then I don't see why not."

"Thank you," she said as she moved forward and embraced him.

He rubbed her back gently and prayed that nothing would happen to her or their child. With the re-appearance of his father and the court case of attempted murder against Jeremy, he was at his wit's end thinking about Kirsten's safety.

He just would have to hope for the best.

Maybe Caleb would help him protect her. After all he nearly lost her too so of course he would.

Kirsten and 'Olivia' would be fine.

Sandy Cohen would make sure of that.

* * *

**Sorry about the bad quality of this but I wanted to get it up. It's a bit of a fluffy chapter but I think you all deserve that after all the drama. Everything will get exampled – hopefully because all the webs I've weaved are so numerous :P. But I hope you enjoyed it. Rock on.**


	19. Truly, Madly, Deeply

**Sorry I haven't updated this fic in ages but I wanted to get more of 'Gone and Missing' updated and I'm about 2 weeks away from my exam period so yeh wanted to get a chapter of HDTN up for you all.**

**Disclaimer – I don't own any OC characters.

* * *

**

Kirsten woke up with a sense of excitement and exhilaration. It wasn't because her child was continually growing inside of her or that she and Sandy had made love that night. But because she was going back to work this morning.

Contently, she eased herself out of bed and wrapped her robe around herself placing her hands on her expanding stomach afterwards. Kirsten moved through the doors that lead out to the backyard and basked in the morning sunshine. She felt the soft glow of the sun on her face and the gentle Californian breeze playing with her slightly dishevelled hair.

As the waves crashed on the shore in the horizon, she ran her hand across her chest and there she felt the familiar bump of her scar.

The scar from where she was shot.

Suddenly a flashback of darting in front of the bullet flickered before her eyes and the sound of a gunshot thundered in her head.

That was months ago.

Now, she was healed.

She had renewed her wedding vows with Sandy.

She was pregnant.

She was day-dreaming into her own world now.

But the tiniest kick from inside her belly disturbed her thoughts.

Her baby had kicked.

At almost five months the baby had kicked.

Overjoyed, Kirsten rushed back into the house and excitedly awoke Sandy from his slumber.

"Sandy! Sandy! Wake up, wake up!" she ordered shaking him.

Sandy grumbled and moaned in futile attempts to ward off Kirsten and to make her take the hint that he wanted to remain sleeping.

"Sandy!" Kirsten ordered again.

"Sleep, wanna sleep," he murmured into his pillow waving his arm in whatever direction it wanted to go.

"Sandy! Get up now! The baby kicked."

Suddenly, he pushed himself up onto his face and stared directly at Kirsten.

"What?"

"The baby kicked," Kirsten repeated.

"Are you serious?"

"Yeh . . . here."

Kirsten moved herself onto the bed beside him and gently placed his hand on her belly and they waited for their baby to kick again.

Their patience was rewarded with a tiny tremor moving through Kirsten's skin.

"Oh my god," Sandy smiled, "that's my baby doing that."

"Yes it is," Kirsten beamed.

"If this is what we're like with this one, imagine how stupid we were when Seth first kicked?"

"I remember – when I told you that Seth had kicked you ran out of the bedroom and tripped over the coffee table while you were trying and I mean trying to get to the kitchen – you literally fell over everything," she recalled.

"Oh yeh," he laughed at the memory, "and my knee still hurts just thinking about it."

"Well at least this time you didn't fall over anything."

"Yeh I just got woken up."

"But I think you kinda embarrassed yourself on both accounts."

"How this time?"

"Sleep, wanna sleep," she mocked.

"Still don't see the embarrassment."

"Uh huh, well I better shower and get ready for work."

"Are you sure you wanna go back to work?"

"You're gonna win so don't start it up again," Kirsten smiled as she stepped off the bed and walked towards the bathroom.

Sandy was nervous about Kirsten returning to work. He couldn't help but think about what might happen. Hundreds of possibilities raced through his head and all of them involved Kirsten and being hurt in one way or another. It was hard for him to forget that someone had nearly killed her almost six months.

He could just imagine her sitting there at her desk or walking out of the Newport Group building and someone would suddenly grab her.

After the boys had left for school and wished Kirsten luck on her first day back at work, Sandy and Kirsten left in the Beemer to the Newport Group.

Sandy tried to go as slow as possible so that she will not arrive on time but Kirsten caught onto his apprehension and when they finally arrived she spoke up.

"Sandy, I'm going to be fine . . . I'm going to work, not the mines."

"You're talking about the Newport Group," he smiled.

"True," she replied matching his smile, "but my dad is here and if there is any trouble at all, I'll call you and let you know."

"Ok."

"And try not to worry ok, the baby will be fine too. I love you."

"Love you too."

And with that, she climbed out of the car and walked down the path towards the Newport Group as Sandy watched carefully before driving off.

Everybody in the building greeted Kirsten warmly with hugs and comments on how wonderful she looked. Naturally, her bump was the talk of the building and everyone wanted to know when the baby was due, what sex the baby was and all the other that came with pregnancy.

After she escaped from the hurricanes of questions, she rested in her office but Julie was already sitting on the sofa there.

"Julie?"

"Kiki, welcome back, Cal said you were coming back today," Julie greeted warmly.

"I'm sure he did."

"Well, I know we wanted to ease you in but this new editor has been hounding us for this magazine to be made and he wanted a meeting today."

"Why couldn't this have been done when I was off?" Kirsten questioned.

"Because I'm not smart enough."

"Ok, when's the meeting?"

"Two o'clock."

"That's fine then, it should give me enough time to catch up on what's been happening around the office."

"Great. How's the baby?"

"She kicked this morning," Kirsten smiled.

"It's a girl?"

"Erm no, but I don't like calling the baby 'It' and since Sandy and I have chosen a girl's name, we just decided to refer to the baby as 'She' for a while."

"That is so cute . . . are you going to find out that the baby is before the birth?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Ok, well that's your prerogative."

"Thank you Julie."

"How was Sandy with your returning to work?"

"Honestly. He was a bit worried about it. I could tell that he was worried that something might happen and that I would get hurt and worse the baby. It's like he's worried that someone will try to hurt me again," Kirsten answered.

Julie nodded.

"I can understand where this fear is coming from," she continued, "but it is frustrating the way that he's trying to wrap me up in bubble wrap."

"Is it possible that he feels guilty about what happened?"

"How?"

"Well the guy was a guy he sent to jail and he was meant to shoot him and not you," Julie said, "and you got hurt as a result and you could've died so maybe he feels guilt and if it wasn't for that guy, you wouldn't've missed work and wouldn't need to come back today."

"I guess you're right."

* * *

Two o'clock came and Kirsten was on the phone when Julie knocked on her door. Without saying anything, Kirsten indicated that Julie should come in and that she would be finished in a minute.

Julie entered closely followed by the editor.

"Ok, thank you, good bye," Kirsten wrapped up putting the phone down and ended scribbling some details on a piece of paper.

"Kirsten . . . I'd like you to meet our editor, Carter Buckley . . . Carter this is Kirsten Cohen."

Kirsten looked up and saw the handsome editor standing before her with an outstretched hand.

"Nice to meet you," he greeted.

"Likewise Mr Buckley," she answered standing up and taking his hand.

He was stunned at her angelic and ethereal beauty. She had a beautiful halo of golden blonde hair, deep sparkling blue eyes that were so expressive that even in the seconds that he had known her he could sense her soul. Her face was incredibly beautiful that every feature to him was immaculate. Everything about her was impeccable. Even if she was married, he knew that he could get her.

But then she stood up.

Why did she have to stand up?

He surveyed her dress sense and it was impeccable like her beauty.

It complimented her hair style and looks beautifully and the simplicity of it was endearing. But as he scanned further down, he saw a bump.

'Dammit' he thought, 'why does she have to be pregnant?'

Carter tried to think if there was any kind of loop-hole that would allow him to pursue him but alas he couldn't. She was pregnant and there was no honour in trying to pursue a pregnant woman.

There simply wasn't a loop-hole for that.

So, he decided on what he should do.

Simply, forget about it.

Forget about his sudden infatuation with Kirsten Cohen because it was just that.

An infatuation.

It was just a crush.

She was pregnant, married and he worked for her.

That was all.

'Shut up you idiot, look at her, she's gorgeous. There is no way that you can work with her without thinking about kissing those lips oh those pink gorgeous lips – shut up! I won't think about it,' he thought.

"I'm looking forward to working with you," Kirsten said.

'Yes! Yes, she's looking forward to working with me' he thought.

"Um yeh likewise," he lied.

"So, now that everyone is introduced shall we get down to work," Julie suggested.

They all discussed the various aspects of the magazine and got a rough idea of what would be in the premiere issue. All the while, Carter was thinking about Kirsten's smile and how her nose wrinkled when she was thinking.

When it was time to go home, Sandy waited outside the Newport Group building for Kirsten. Kirsten came out of the doors and he breathed a sigh of relief that she was fine and nothing had happened.

"How'd it go?" Sandy asked when she was in the door.

"It was fine – nothing to worry about."

"I bet everyone was glad that you were back."

"Yeh they were actually but most of them were asking about the baby."

"I'm not surprised," Sandy smiled, "they are all going to be technical aunts and uncles."

Kirsten smiled.

"So anything exciting happen?"

"I met the editor of Newport Living – he seems quite nice and he certainly knows that he's talking about."

"What's his name?"

"Carter Buckley."

"Carter Buckley? He wrote Revolution didn't he?" Sandy asked.

"You know it?"

"I read it religiously in college."

"Wow, a magazine devoted to losers."

"The lovable ones."

"Well then it'll sure be interesting to work with him."

Carter had watched her leave the Newport Group offices from a first floor window and remembered every swerve of her hip as she walked and how her hand rested protectively over her bump.

He was truly in love with Kirsten Cohen,

Truly.

Madly.

Deeply.

* * *

**Sorry but this was a crap update even if I do say so myself but I couldn't really think of anything brilliant. This was the best I could come up with. Sorry**. 


	20. Heartbeat

**I apologise for being so late with updates, I just have major writer's block and I can't figure out how to continue. This is for my chica Mickey, happy birthday honey bunny.**

**Disclaimer – Don't own any OC character.

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**

There it was.

The tiny sound.

That was all it was.

A tiny little blip.

The baby's heartbeat.

The sounds came in regular succession and Sandy couldn't absorb it. The miracle of it. The little blips were coming from inside Kirsten where he or she was safely nestled and quite content. He looked down and saw Kirsten looking over at the monitor with a smile on her face.

He knew she was thinking the same thing.

Their baby's heartbeat was simply music to their ears and they could already visualise the little one running around the house with them followed in suit. The sweet giggle from the child echoing off the walls and flowing through the house. It might as well be a dream but in just over 3 months it would be a reality.

The grainy image on the screen stared right back at him and there in the corner was the baby. Their new son or daughter.

"The baby's heartbeat is nice and strong and it's growing at a nice rate, perfect size for it's age," the doctor mumbled while examining the screen, "has anyone told you the sex of the baby?"

This was the first time that this doctor had taken them for the sonogram as Kirsten's regular doctor was on paternity leave after his own wife gave birth to their fourth child.

"No. . . they haven't," Kirsten replied.

"Would you like to know?"

Kirsten looked up at Sandy looking for the answer to the question but she was only met by his questioning eyes.

"Would you-" they both began at the same time before stopping.

"I don't mind – do you? - Up to you," they said in perfect unison.

"Sorry, twenty years of marriage, more or less, and you develop this synchronicity," Sandy apologised to the perplexed doctor.

"No need to apologise Mr. Cohen . . . so would you like to know?"

"Kirsten?"

Kirsten resented being left to this decision and she couldn't decide. When she was pregnant with Seth she and Sandy decided to keep it a surprise until the birth but since this baby would probably be their very last, she didn't know whether or not to wait.

"Hey honey, let's try this . . . you said that when you had Seth you thought it would be a boy and you were right."

"Well I had a fifty fifty percent chance of getting it right," she replied.

"Doesn't matter, you were still right. How about it? No harm in trying . . . guess and the doctor could give an inkling of whether you're right or not."

"I dunno Sandy . . . what if I get it wrong?"

"Well you said it yourself, you have a fifty percent chance of getting it wrong."

"Ok."

Kirsten looked off into the screen and tried to get a gut feeling of what sex her baby would be. She eyes swam in the blue and black waves and the tiny being lying nestled inside her. Closing her eyes, she tossed the proverbial coin in her head – heads it would be a boy and tails it would be a girl. But wait, if she tossed if heads up it would pretty much land heads up. So how could she toss the coin impartially?

'Damn it Kirsten, turn your brain off and just pick' she cursed herself.

She opened her eyes and Sandy and the doctor were sitting expectantly but inside of answering them, she looked down at her bump. It had the clear goo on it.

'What's that stuff called? Why are you asking yourself? You don't fucking know! Good point,' Kirsten thought.

She felt a twinge from inside her stomach and simply went with her gut feeling.

"Girl," Kirsten answered.

Sandy looked towards the doctor instantly.

Several seconds seemed to pass before he motioned to answer.

"It's a girl," he confirmed.

"It's a girl!" Sandy and Kirsten repeated together.

"It's a girl, congratulations."

"We're having a girl," Kirsten beamed.

"We're having a girl!" Sandy repeated bending down to hug Kirsten as he laughed excitedly.

They could definitely see the future now. A little blonde haired girl running happily through the house in a pink dress holding onto a teddy bear as she giggled as her parents followed her.

The little girl giggled happily and turned around and her deep blue eyes looked up at them filled with pure innocence. Her cherub cheeks stuck in an eternal heart melting smile.

Their daughter.

"I'm so glad I didn't say I hope the baby gets my looks," Sandy laughed.

"Yeh cuz that would be a good look for her," Kirsten replied smiling.

"Oh I know . . . I want her to look exactly like you . . . blonde hair, blue eyes . . . cute button nose. She's going to be beautiful . . . which makes me think of how boys are gonna want to date her."

"Sandy!" Kirsten interrupted, "do you wanna back it up a little bit, she's not even born yet and you are already making up the Father Questionnaire for boys to take."

"Sorry."

"I take it this is your first girl," the doctor said.

"Yeh . . . we have two sons, we always wanted a girl but . . ."

"Circumstances took over," Sandy finished.

"Well, Kirsten, your baby is healthy and a nurse will come in and clean you up and you can go and I'm sure Doctor Allen will be back next month."

"Thank you Doctor McCartan."

"You're welcome."

And with that the doctor left the room leaving Sandy and Kirsten alone with their unborn daughter.

"Circumstances," Kirsten whispered, "some circumstances."

"I know honey," he consoled as he sat down beside her on the bed where she cuddled up to his chest.

"Is it weird that that baby was a girl and now this one? Is it trying to say something? I don't know what I'd do if I lost this baby," Kirsten rambled.

"Hey, hey, hey honey, don't speak like that . . . Olivia won't like it," he said placing his hand on a clear area of her stomach, "she can sense what you are thinking."

"Have you been watching documentaries again."

"Just the odd one."

Kirsten looked at him expectantly.

"Yeh I have – there's this one from the UK and it's about this guy and he says he can read baby's minds and he can understand why they are so unruly and things like that. I tell ya honey, some of things he says the kid tells him are spooky. He said that the kid told him that her mother had been raped and she hasn't told a single person."

"So the baby knows things."

"Apparently so."

Kirsten stared off into space at that revelation. If dark secrets haunted the mother then it haunted the baby and may cause the baby to hate the mother.

The abortion.

Even though Sandy knew about it and he'd been helping her with it, it still haunted her. Instinctively, her hand moved to her bump and gently soothed it.

She prayed to god that her past didn't harm the baby. But then again, Seth turned out fine even though she was still carrying the burden of what John did to her.

'Stop thinking about it or Olivia might pick up on it, so shh!' she told herself.

* * *

"What are you thinking?" Sandy asked into Kirsten's hair as they sat huddled together on the beach. 

"I'm thinking that we're having a girl. This baby is a girl. I always wanted a girl."

"I know you did."

"And now, here she is," she whispered rubbing a hand over the purple material of her top.

"I know, it's amazing isn't it?"

"I think it's more than amazing. It's a miracle Sandy. I- I didn't think we could have another baby after – after what-"

"Yeh, that was hard .. . I still think about her . . . she would have been fourteen this year."

"More or less yeh. I can't help but wonder what she would've looked like or if this baby looks exactly like what Amy would have been."

Amy.

She hadn't used that name in years. It was the name that they would have called their daughter if she had been carried to term but instead she was lost to them.

"I know honey . . . but everything will be fine . . . I promise," Sandy whispered reassuringly.

* * *

"Dude what the hell? Come on! You just freaking stabbed me with the lightsaber again," Seth yelled. 

"What? Is it my fault that I'm better at this than you?" Ryan replied.

"Well . . . stop."

The whizzing and whirring of the computer game continued and the ferocious taps of their thumbs and fingers methodically moved.

Then Seth heard a familiar sound that he didn't like hearing.

"Dude, stop with the lightsaber, I only have like 25 life points left . . . either quit it or show me how to do it."

"Ok, it's down down, up left, square, triangle, L1, R2, triangle, x, down square, square," Ryan mumbled without taking his eyes off the screen.

"What?" Seth asked completely confused.

"I just told you what I just did to your character while you were listening to me."

"So that wasn't the combination?"

"Nope."

"Ryan Atwood . . . that was sneaky."

"Well, you used the same manoeuvre on me," Ryan replied.

"And oh how the tables have turned."

"Yeh and now the table is now reading game over."

Seth looked at the screen and saw his character lying on the floor with his lightsaber on the floor nearby. The words 'Game Over' were printed across the screen mocking him. The white colouring and high case font reiterating how Ryan had defeated him.

"Excuse me while I go hang myself or chuck myself in the pool . . . whichever is more painless cuz me and pain don't mix."

"Seth, take it like a man."

Seth looked at Ryan with a knowing look.

"Well, try to," Ryan corrected.

"Ha ha, Ryan, ha ha. Look at me, I can't even beat you, next think I know Summer is going to be interested in comic books."

"Summer is interested in comic books."

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."

"Why?"

"Because then it means that I can't beat you at a Star Wars game," he pouted.

"Seth?" Ryan asked, "do you want a rematch."

"So badly!"

"Right, let's go."

The frantic whirring and tapping resumed.

"Ha! No more Mr Lightsaber Thrower!"

They were so engrossed in the game that neither of them became aware of the front door opening and closing or the sound of the footsteps approaching them.

"Hey fellas."

No response.

"Boys," Sandy said raising his voice slightly.

"What?" Seth answered monotonously without diverting his attention.

"We're back."

"That's good."

"Seth."

"Yeh?"

"That wasn't a question."

"I'm this close to beating Ryan."

"You're this close from being grounded."

"What can I do for you?" he asked putting the game on hold and feigning enthusiasm.

"How was the appointment?" Ryan asked.

"What appointment?" Seth enquired.

"Your mother's sonogram."

"Oh . . . oooo that was today?"

"Yes, Einstein."

"How was it?" Seth asked.

"Baby's healthy and good."

"Did they ask you if you wanted to know what it was?"

Sandy and Kirsten had debated on the drive home whether or not they should tell the boys what sibling they should expect. Kirsten tried to figure out the pros and cons of it but what pros and cons could there possibly be. But they both knew that with knowing what sex the baby was, they could fully prepare for her arrival.

"Yes they did," Kirsten replied with an arm draped protectively over her belly.

"And? Am I getting another brother or a sister."

"Ryan do you want to know?" Kirsten asked.

Ryan in that moment was told once again how this family had taken him in. Kirsten cared about whather or not he knew what 'sibling' he could expect.

"Yeh, I'd love to know . . . never really had a little sibling so never had this chance before, so I'd love to know."

"Well . . . we're having a girl."

"A girl? I'm gonna have a little sister?"

Sandy and Kirsten both nodded.

"That's awesome!" Seth smiled.

"Wow, you guys that's so cool."

"Thank you Ryan," Kirsten beamed.

"And hey Kirsten, at least with the baby you won't be the only girl in the house," Ryan said.

"Hey that's right," Sandy replied, "I think this calls for a celebration."

"What do you have in mind?"

"How about we go out to eat? And then we'll take it from there," Sandy suggested.

"Sounds like a plan," Seth added.

"Who am I to argue, let's go," Kirsten finished.

The Cohens grabbed their coats and respective paraphernalia and walked out the door before bundling into the range rover.

* * *

**Again, Happy Birthday Mickey honey. Reviews are the best and they might spur me to update more. Or to help me get over this darn writer's block. Rock on!**


	21. These Words Aren't His Own

**Flip I haven't updated this fic in absolute ages have I? No and I sincerely apologise. Hopefully this will make up for the absent of updates :D I'm a self-confessed Carsten (yes I typed it mwahaha) lover but this is as far from Carsten as you can get!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any OC character.

* * *

**

The black glossy Range Rover pulled into the Executive parking space outside the Newport Group. Seconds later a pair of legs appeared from the open door and Kirsten slid out into the bathing sunlight with her briefcase in hand.

At almost seven months pregnant, her baby bump was showing nicely as her decorative black top flowed over the bulge. Once she was out of the car, she looked around and looked at how the sunlight glinted off the windows. It was days like these that made coming to work in such a fortress worthwhile. As she began working towards the building, her arm naturally rested on her stomach where her unborn child lay.

She couldn't wait to welcome her new daughter into the world and show her child the beautiful sight and the wonders she introduced Seth to and Ryan later on. Walking, the perspective name of her baby came to her mind: Olivia Anneliese.

"Morning Claire," Kirsten greeted.

"Morning, you sound in a good mood."

"Well it's a beautiful day outside even if it always is but I guess pregnancy does that to you," she smiled.

"A good mood is a good mood and how the little one today? Behaving?"

"Yeh, Sandy's behaving."

The two women giggled.

"But no, the baby's fine, being a little darling," she said caressing her bump affectionately, "I can't wait till she's here."

"Yeh I know, not long now. How long is it until you go on maternity leave? Two weeks isn't it?"

"Yeh. I had to fight tooth and nail with dad and Sandy to get those extra two weeks. They both gave me lectures and everything about how I should take care of myself and 'prepare' for the baby but I don't need two months to do that really. And besides, I need to get as much work wrapped up as possible."

"Well the little one will be here before you know it."

"Thanks Claire," Kirsten said before looking over at her office," which reminds her, I've got a meeting with Carter in about an hour so when he gets in-"

"Erm sorry but Mr Buckley called this morning and left a message saying that he won't in . . . it was at three thirty and his words were kinda slurred."

"You're kidding."

"I could try him again . . ."

"No, it's ok. I'll take care of it," Kirsten said before going back out.

* * *

The students at Harbour flowed from the doors and merged into one river as the moved through the corridors and meandered around corners.

Seth stood silently at his locker and retrieved several necessary books and placed them in his bag.

"Hey," someone greeted placing their hands as best they could over his eyes.

"Hey."

"Guess who?"

"Oh I wonder who it could possibly be?" he said sarcastically, "um is it Marissa? Or Ryan or Doctor Kim maybe?"

"Cohen!" Summer said hitting his arm.

"Summer!" he smiled leaning down and kissing her lightly, "would never have guessed."

"Yeh that's true . . . so what class do you have next?"

"I don't. I'm just getting my books because I'm heading to the lounge to do some work."

"Awesome, me too. I'm dying for a coffee," Summer added as they moved off as the bell went.

"You're making me want one now."

"Really?

"Yeh."

"Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. Coffee, coffee, coffee. Coff-eeeeeeeeee," she teased as they walked.

"No, stop. I can't take it anymore!" he moaned melodramatically.

"Coffee," she whispered.

"Coffee."

"You know you want it Cohen."

"Caffeine! Yes, Summer, I do want it . . . . Two coffees please," Seth said to the vender, "what do you want Summer?"

Summer reacted by hitting his arm and Seth's hand instinctively flew there.

Seth gawped at her whereas she just replied with a knowing look.

"Here you go," the man said and Seth handed over his money.

"Thank you," they both said.

Slowly they walked to a couch to they could sit down.

"Oh hey, how's your mom?"

"She's good. Well as good as can be for a semi-heavily pregnant woman."

"How much longer until the baby is born?"

"Erm, two months. The doctor said she's due on April 27th."

"She?"

"Oh yeh, forgot to tell you, it's a girl."

"Cohen!! How could you not tell me you're going to have a baby sister?" Summer yelled hitting him.

"Ow! I didn't get around to it and besides you already knew the name we're gonna give her so I thought that might've given it away."

"But still . . ."

"I'm sorry, I really am."

"It's ok but I just wanted to know. Does Marissa know?"

"No, I don't think so. I know my mom told Julie but whether or not she told Marissa, I dunno."

"Ok, I just wanted to be to the first to know between us."

"And so you shall."

"I definitely would've been if you had've told me earlier than today! But I'm over it, it is out of my system."

Summer hit him one last time.

"Hey, what was that for?"

"Delayed reaction."

"Uh huh."

* * *

Cautiously, Kirsten approached the address that she had been told was the apartment of Carter Buckley. Slowly, she opened the wooden gate and walked on through to where loud music was blaring from.

She spotted an open door and the music was louder from there.

Kirsten edge around it and saw Carter swinging on a chair with a bottle in his hand.

Suddenly, he swung around and saw her.

"Kirsten! Join the party!" he slurred.

"We had a meeting. Do you mind explaining what happened?"

"Oh, something called my anniversary," Carter added dully looking at his near empty bottle.

"You're divorced."

"No wonder this party sucks!"

Without thinking of why she felt on edge, she instinctively rested her arm around her stomach. Kirsten knew that Carter wasn't a problem but she still felt apprehensive.

"I see your arm there – must mean you're still pregnant," he blurted out.

Kirsten's demeanour changed immediately.

Had he actually said that?

Had he actually said _that_?

Carter made a snide comment about her unborn daughter.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

"How dare you! How dare you say something like that to me! I don't know where you get off saying something like that!"

Carter stood up drunkenly and stepped towards her. Instantly Kirsten stood a step back.

"I don't care what condition you're in Carter but being drunk will not excuse what you said."

"You know something?" he hissed.

"What?"

"That kid should be mine!"

Before he could continue, he felt a sting across his cheek where Kirsten had slapped him with all the energy she could manage.

"Go to hell," Kirsten whispered menacingly.

"Kirsten-"

"Don't! We'll do the magazine ourselves without your help, thank you! Goodbye Mister Buckley."

Turning on her heel, Kirsten stormed away from the apartment leaving Carter leaning up against the door jam stunned at the words that had just fled his mouth. He had lost her.

Kirsten climbed quickly into the Range Rover and drove away from the drunken fool that had caused such anger to well up inside her. All the while as she drove back to the Newport Group, she whispered to 'Olivia', 'it's alright sweetie, he didn't mean that. You're your daddy's and he's your daddy. He's such a meanie trying to make me mad'.

It was working.

She stormed through the Newport Group building until she reached her office.

"Any calls Claire?"

"Yeh, Mr Telford wants you to confirm your meeting for next Monday before you go off on leave and Mr Buckley keeps calling and he only says-"

"I don't want to hear any messages from Mr Buckley Claire, ok?"

"Sure."

"Thanks. I'll be in my office if anyone needs me."

Claire nodded.

With that, Kirsten made her way into her office and closed the door before leaning back up against it.

Why had he said such things?

As soon as that question entered her head, Kirsten tossed it out.

If anyone said that about her or her unborn daughter, they had no business with her at all.

Clearing her head of all her thoughts towards Carter, she picked up the handset of the phone on her desk and dialled the office number of Julie.

"Hello?"

"Julie."

"Hey Kirsten."

"Hey . . . I need you to come to my office, it looks like you're going to get your dream of editing the magazine yourself."

"Why?"

"I'll explain when you get here."

"I'll be right there."

Together, they put their handsets down simultaneously.

* * *

"So how am I getting to do this?" Julie asked as she walked into Kirsten's office and noticed Kirsten sitting on the sofa with the plans for the magazine in front of her.

"Because, Mr Buckley wasn't right for the job."

"I thought you said I wasn't qualified?" Julie added seeing past Kirsten's façade.

"I was wrong."

"Uh-huh?"

"What?" Kirsten asked noticing Julie's look towards her.

"Something's going on here, what is it?"

"Nothing."

"Oh come on, I know you Kiki."

Kirsten remained passive.

"Do you have a thing for Carter?" she asked smiling.

"No!" Kirsten dismissed immediately.

"Why not? He's good looking."

"Not to me," she added looking at the layouts.

"Ok . . . so then what's the problem."

"There is no problem."

Silence.

"Kirsten?"

Complete silence.

"Something's wrong. Tell me."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"What he said should never have to be repeated," Kirsten said as her hand rested on her bump, "I can't even accept it yet or repeat it."

"Ok . . but you're ok?"

"Yeh I will be . . . let's just get some work done."

Julie watched as Kirsten sifted through the pile of papers lying in front of them. She could clearly see that something had her friend distressed.

* * *

"Hey I didn't hear you come in last night," Sandy greeted the next morning as she peered out the window in their bedroom.

"I could say the same about you," she replied before kissing him.

She eyes looked out the window again as she sighed.

"You ok?"

"Yeh fine . . . just tired. Long day yesterday."

"You sure?"

"Yeh, I'm fine and before you ask, the baby is fine so I'm still working," she added with a knowing look.

"Ok, as long as you're ok."

Sandy left and went into the closet to change.

She couldn't bring herself to tell him what Carter had said to her earlier.

The man that he once idolised had insulted her and their unborn child.

How could she tell him?

* * *

**Sorry to all those who love Carter, namely Em, Lauren, Kelly and Marcia (that is if they still read this). Hopefully an update with come again soon. You never know. I may write a Valentine episode and actually have a time period in this lol. I got totally lost myself. Love!**


	22. February Song

Sandy hectically circled the kitchen as he travelled back and forth and from side to side. His hands frantically prepared breakfast and he worked as quickly as he possibly could to decorate the kitchen and display the table.

As he added the finishing touches, he took a step back and looked pleased with his efforts. He stole one of the roses from a nearby vase and headed towards the bedroom at the other end of the house.

Sandy casually jogged up the steps and peered into the amber bathed bedroom where his wife lay asleep facing him with one arm draped across her stomach. He absorbed the image before him. Memories of Berkeley flew before his eyes of when Kirsten was pregnant with Seth and how her arm rested so naturally on her bulge. Then he remembered when Amy was lost to them and how he would look in on Kirsten for weeks after the miscarriage and his heart broke as he saw her arm enveloped her empty belly.

Amy.

The daughter that wasn't to be.

Recently, he began to think more and more about her as they prepared to welcome Olivia to the world. What would Amy have looked like? Would he have had his eyes or Kirsten's? Dark unruly hair like his or Kirsten's angelic blonde silken locks? His answers would sadly remain unanswered.

But his thoughts turned to the prospect of Olivia who they would be welcoming into the world in just about two months.

Silently, he padded his way over towards the bed where he lay down alongside Kirsten. His hand moved across the bed and rested on Kirsten's hand over her bump and almost immediately he felt a tiny little tremor from inside Kirsten.

The miracle of pregnancy still amazed him.

"Ssh sweetheart, you'll wake up mommy," he cooed.

"Actually, she's already awake because daddy shifted the bed," Kirsten whispered softly with her eyes still closed.

"Hey," Sandy greeted, "Good morning beautiful."

He leaned forward and kissed his wife before presenting her with the single rose.

"Happy Late Valentine's Day."

Kirsten smiled as she took the rose from his fingers and inhaled the sweet fragrance.

"Thank you."

Their lips touched again.

"I'm so sorry that we couldn't celebrate Valentine's last weekend when it was Valentine's," Kirsten apologised.

"You've got nothing to be sorry for. I understood that you weren't feeling well and we were both burned out from hectic weeks at work and you even more so because of this little one," he said as he rubbed her belly, "and that magazine is running you ragged after Carter left but at least you're off work soon."

"Yes, I only have to wrap up a few last things and then I'm going to be a prisoner to this house," she smiled.

"You better believe it. Not one of your fingers is going to be lifted."

The baby kicked one again grabbing their attention and they both immediately looked down. Their eyes looked on the bump where their daughter was safely nestled.

Then a rumble was heard.

They smiled at each other.

"Breakfast is all ready for you, I'll wait for you to get dressed," Sandy said.

"Ok I'll be ready in a few minutes."

Kirsten shifted herself out of the bed and made her way to the closest where she muddled through her clothes to find something to wear.

As Sandy waited, he opened the blinds and allowed the sunlight to flow freely into the room. He imagined how the same sunlight would filter into the room and bask a warm light onto their daughter's bassinet as she woke up every morning to the beautiful scenery that surrounded them. He would then stand outside in the backyard with his daughter in his arms, play with her and teach her how to swim in the pool.

He remembered all the countless times that he had spent in the backyard with Kirsten. The times that they cuddled together on the grass looking up at the stairs, embraced in the Jacuzzi or consoled each other on the deckchair. The last thought brought back memories of when Kirsten finally accepted the loss of Amy and how her body was wracked with heartbreaking sobs. The overwhelming feelings of love that he felt for Kirsten flooded his body and warmed his very soul. He couldn't imagine life without her and he thanks his lucky stars that he had met her that fateful day in Berkeley. They fell in love, married and made a life together.

Even though they had had their fair share of arguments and blips in their marriage, he had never been so hopelessly in love with her today, here and now.

"Hey, anything interesting out there?"

"Sadly no," he replied as he turned around to face her, "you look beautiful."

"Thank you."

He closed the distance between them and gave her a light kiss.

She was wearing a stylish scarlet chiffon pregnancy top with long sleeves and black trousers with matching pumps. The rose that he had handed her was now neatly placed in her blonde hair as it twisted back.

"If you'll follow me Mrs Cohen, I'll bring you to your breakfast," Sandy said as he offered her his arm which she took gracefully.

He guided her safely down the steps and through the house as if she was a porcelain doll and about to break at any second. But as they neared the kitchen he placed his hands gently over her eyes and moved her slowly and cautiously to the kitchen.

"Sandy-"

"Wait, wait, you'll see."

He edged her forward a few more steps and stopped at the threshold to the kitchen. Slowly he removed his hands and let her see the heavily decorated room.

"Oh my god," Kirsten breathed.

Rose petals decorated the kitchen island as heart shaped pieces placed themselves beautifully everywhere on each surface and vases of roses welcomed her. In the dining room table sat two place settings, a vase with two red roses and a single lit candle.

"Happy Valentine's," he added as he kissed her on the cheek.

Together they walked through the kitchen to the table where Sandy pulled out the nearby chair gesturing for Kirsten to sit down. Once she was comfortable, he brought over their breakfast meal and he took his seat opposite her.

"It looks good."

"I slaved over the stove for hours this morning."

Kirsten cocked an eyebrow.

"Seriously I did," Sandy defended smiling, "ok . . . the boys helped a little."

Kirsten giggled.

"Speaking of the boys, where are they?"

"They're spending the day with the girls so we've got the day and the place to ourselves."

"How did you manage to rope the boys' help?"

"I have my ways," Sandy said as he took a sip from his glass.

* * *

A few hours later, Kirsten and Sandy strolled unhurriedly along the warm beach hand in hand as the light breeze tousled their hair and blew gently at her chiffon top. As they bare feet sunk between the grains of sand, the warm passed through their bodies. Then Kirsten tenderly rested her head on Sandy's shoulder.

"Do you remember the first time we brought Seth to the beach here," Sandy asked indicating the stretch they were on.

"Yeh," Kirsten smiled, "we were here visiting my parents. Seth was two and was as interested in the water as I am."

"We brought a picnic and he just sat there with you on the blanket while I was the only one 'brave' enough to actually go near the water."

"Well, you tried to get us into the sea. You picked him up and bobbed him up and down in the water."

"He liked it," Sandy added.

"For a few minutes until he got nauseous."

"He got further than you did, "Sandy there are fish in there!"" he mocked.

"Are you mocking me?" Kirsten asked.

"Are you mocking me?"

"Sandy," she laughed.

"Sandy," he repeated mimicking her laugh as he put his hands on her waist and faced her.

"Our daughter better not inherit your sarcasm."

"I thought my sarcasm was endearing."

"What made you think that?" Kirsten asked sarcastically.

"Ah ha!" he pointed, "the 'Sarcasm' is rubbing off on you."

"And it only took all of twenty years."

"Wow, more sarcasm."

Before she knew it, Sandy scooped her up into his arms and carried her forward towards the water.

"Sandy? Sandy what are you doing?" she asked worried.

He didn't answer but continued to walk forward.

"Sandy!"

He didn't stop.

"Sandy!"

By this point Sandy was already calf deep in the water and had a sly look in his eyes which said 'I'm gonna drop you'.

"Sandy don't you dare!" Kirsten said with authority.

Immediately, Sandy jerked.

Her arms flew back around his neck and held on fiercely in fear.

She waited for him to pretend to drop her again.

She felt her legs being released and she could feel him gently lowering her down to the ground. The cool sensation of the water flooded over her skin as she felt the sand.

"Thank you," she thanked him softly.

They looked deeply into each others' eyes.

Kirsten could see the sun reflect in his iris.

Beautiful.

He leaned his head towards her.

She moved hers forward.

'I've got a better idea' she thought quickly.

Kirsten noticed that Sandy's eyes were closed in anticipation with just millimetres between their lips. Seductively, she moved her fingers up his arms to his shoulder and softly soothed him.

The next thing Sandy felt was the sensation of falling forward and into the water.

He splashed about bewildered until he found his bearings and looked up at a smug giggling Kirsten.

"Proud of yourself?" he asked indicating his soaked clothes.

"Yes, yes I am," Kirsten giggled uncontrollably.

"Is that right? Are you going to give me a hand out?" he asked holding out his hand.

Kirsten went to give him her hand but pulled back.

"I know you Sandy Cohen. You're going to pull me in."

"I wouldn't do that," Sandy replied as he slyly moved further back into the water.

"Really?"

"Honey, come on. I'm getting cold here."

Kirsten debated it with herself.

"Ok," and with that she reached her hand out towards him and took his cold wet hand in hers.

Sandy used his other free hand to splash some water up towards her to which she jumped at squealing. Seizing the moment and Kirsten off guard, he jumped to his heart and took her in his arms and waded into the water and set her down into the surf.

"Sandy!" she wailed in disbelief, "you bastard!"

"Oh you love me really."

"At the minute that's somewhat debatable!"

"Is it?" he asked lowering himself down to her in the water and leaning closer to her.

"Yes."

"Is it?" he repeated as he closed the distance between their lips.

"Well – this – is – helping," she managed between kisses.

"Hmm mm," he mumbled as the waves continued to flow past them.

A few minutes later, they broke apart where Sandy helped her to her feet before taking her hand and walking her out of the water and along the beach as the sunlight dried them off delicately.

After they rounded a bend in the beach, they came across a picnic set up complete with blanket, stereo, roses and a wicker basket.

"Lunch m'lady," Sandy whispered.

Sandy guided Kirsten over to the setting and helped her down to the blanket and he began to unpack the picnic basket.

They ate, talked and bathed in the sun as their romantic day continued. Kirsten was caught him in everything that had happened today: the romantic breakfast and now a picnic set up in the middle of nowhere on the beach. She couldn't believe that he arranged this. She looked around at the setting. She had no doubt that Summer and Marissa had been involved in arranging this particular placing because the blanket matched the napkins and the napkins matched the plates. None of the men in her life would have the slightest clue as how to arrange a picnic on a beach in a romantic fashion. Kirsten then recalled the date that she had had with Sandy back in Berkeley in the park and he had had the help of her best friend there. She was overwhelmed that he would go through so much trouble just to give her a romantic moment.

Then the song on the CD player changed to 'She's Got A Way' by Billy Joel.

"Remember this?" Sandy asked before singing, "But I know that I can't live without her".

Kirsten smiled.

_Sandy edged his way over to a group of girls that had huddled by the snacks table and approached the giggling blonde in the red top._

_"Kirsten, may I have this dance," he asked nervously offering her his hand."_

_Kirsten looked at him smiling. She made faces as she contemplated whether or not to accept. She fiddled with the end of her hair and then her earrings._

_"Ah, you're fiddling with you're earring."_

_"And?"_

_"You're gonna say yes."_

_"And what makes you so sure?"_

_"You always do that."_

_"Very observant . . . in a strange – loveable way," she beamed as she took his hand where he led her to the area where couples had gathered with their partners and danced._

_They swayed together to the song. The melody controlled their motions and their eyes remained locked together. The music then began to wind its way out of the song. Then in unison, their lips came together slowly in their first kiss since they began dating._

"The first song we danced too," she smiled reminiscing.

"Our first kiss," he added.

Sandy stood up and leant down towards her and offered her his hand in exactly the same fashion as he did twenty years previously. Kirsten began to make the faces that she once did and then she began to fiddle absentmindedly with her hair before moving to her earring.

"Ah, that's a yes."

"How did you know?" she asked mockingly.

"A hunch."

She placed her hand in his and he helped her to her feet and swayed with her to the movement of the music in his arms. Kirsten rested her head against his as they moved peacefully to the music. The same magic that flowed around them all those years before swirled around and between them now. Then at the same moment as before, the music started to come to an end.

Their lips met.

The magic sensation coalesced and flowed between their lips and coursed through their bodies.

Then leaned into the kiss so they were as close as possible with their unborn child between them.

Sandy could feel the slight tremor of their daughter kicking against his stomach and his hand went naturally to his wife's bump and he soothed the child as he continued to kiss Kirsten.

"Happy Valentine's Day," he whispered.


End file.
